Colors Of Darkness
by Rumpelstiltskin0902
Summary: "No... Thank you..." Loki finally got what he'd always wanted: the throne of Asgard. But what now? How does our favourite supervillain experience his new power and what about Thor? A Fanfic about the world's most popular Gods, their new lifes and the (un)known dangers lurking in the shadows... (I don't own anything Marvel related. I do own all original characters and places.)
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

The cup went up in the air and fell back into the young man's hand. Up it went, and down again, every time reflecting the everlasting sunshine of Asgard and throwing dancing sparkles on the stone walls. Up and down… Up and down… Up and down… Up an…

"Sire?"

With a loud bang the cup fell to the ground. The sound echoed in the empty throne room. The young man sighed, lifted his head from the back of his golden throne and fixed his light grey eyes on the nervous guard who had just entered the room. A slight smile appeared on his face. Believe it or not, but it had taken quite some time for the young king to master a friendly smile. It was no longer the evil, sinister smile he used throw at most people, especially his brother…

The guard cleared his throat nervously. Even after all this time he didn't really know what to think of the new situation. Just as everybody else he knew something big was at stake, something bad had happened, but at the same time he had to admit that everything was going… Well… Great… Kind of….

The guard, reassured by the kind smile of his king began to talk: "My King, I bring news from the patrol to Midgard…"  
The young man's smile disappeared and made place for a serious frown. The guard paused for a moment. He knew how his king thought about Midgard, about Earth. At times like this he hated to be the Captain of the Guards.

"We found your brother, Prince Thor."

The young king rose from his throne and started descending the stairs leading towards the guard. He could sense the man was scared. Still, he couldn't let him leave yet.  
The guard continued: "It seems Thor has settled down with a Midgardian woman in a place called, what was it again, New…"

"New York?" the young king suggested before he could stop himself. The guard looked startled.

"Yes, my king, I believe it was called New York…You know the…"  
The young king scowled and turned away from the guard, making sure he didn't see the pain in his eyes.

"Yes, I paid New York a short …. visit … some time ago…"

The guard could sense he had spoken out of turn and tried to soften the tense situation.  
"He was dressed in Midgardian clothing and wasn't carrying Mjölnir."

The young king seemed to be waiting for more. He now stood right in front of the guard, holding his sceptre in his right hand while looking at the man before him with a weird kind of curiosity in his light grey eyes.

"Are you certain he isn't coming back here any time soon?" he asked making sure he didn't sound too creepy.

"Thor did seem to be thinking about Asgard a lot, but the Midgardian woman persuaded him to leave it alone. They did visit some special Midgardian… in a tall tower… Stark tower, I think it was. It seemed to be some kind of smart man running the place…"  
Memories of pain, hatred, but above all fear, filled the young king's mind. He turned away again and rubbed his head with his fingers.

"You said the girl persuaded my brot… Thor?"

"Yes, my King."

The young man grinned and muttered: "I still like here…"

"Excuse me, Sire?" the guard asked cautiously. The young king turned around again and smiled.

"Nothing, you' re dismissed. You did well!"  
The guard bowed and couldn't help smiling. Relieved he left the throne room.

The young king walked towards the window and looked over Asgard: his city, his kingdom. Somewhere far beneath him he heard the clattering of weapons and the screaming of warriors practising. In the far distance the young king saw the rainbow bridge leading to a weird circular building with some sort of huge pin on top of it. The Bifröst: the bridge between Asgard and the other eight realms. He smiled. At long last, he finally got it. He finally got what he'd always wanted, what always had belonged to him.

He knew he had changed in his three months of being king, but he would always stay the God of Mischief. No throne would change that. Just as his past, his deeds, his reputation and his memories would never change. But still, it all leaded to this. The one thing he had been craving for all these years.

He was Loki, King of Asgard.

But to be honest… ruling turned out to be quite boring…


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

It had been six years since the first patrol to Midgard had returned. Six human years, but since he was King of Asgard, they seemed like thousands. Loki had to admit: being king… it kind of sucked! All right. He loved the power and all the other stuff and he wouldn't give it up, ever! But… even the God of Mischief had to admit he missed his past life. The scheming about taking Odin's, that old, senile fool's throne, getting rid of his arrogant brother, ruling the Earth… And even though Loki would never say it out loud, he missed the fighting. Not against his brother, but alongside his brother and his old friends: Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. Even after everything that had happened nobody could deny their efficiency as a team. Together they had won glorious battles, fought mighty enemies. More than once, Loki saved the lives of his friends and brother. Unlike them, he was a born strategist and therefore he knew when to fall back or when to attack. That was a talent his brother, ironically, didn't possess and his friends would always follow their prince blindly.

But that was all in the past. His former friends were locked away safely in the same cells where Loki used to be kept. The young king was almost certain Thor had told them what, according to him, had happened on Svartalfheim. And even if he didn't, they were not to be trusted. They would easily ignore every order of their king to warn their precious prince on Earth. Loki didn't mean to keep them behind bars for the rest of their lives, though. He would set them free on the same day he would tell Thor the truth. That day still needed to come. For now, Loki thought it was better to wait.

For now he needed to focus on the boring speeches of the Captain of the Guard who always said exactly the same thing: Asgard couldn't be better off! During his rule, Loki had not suffered from one attack. It seemed they had run out of enemies or their enemies where hiding in the shadows, afraid after the great strength Asgard had shown. Only news about Thor's whereabouts brought a bit of variation in the young king's life. Not that his so called brother had the most interesting life, no, but news of Midgard (yes, even that puny world) was way more interesting than the boringness of Asgard.

Loki waited until the Captain left the throne room before letting out a bored sigh. The Captain had just informed him - surprise – nothing special or thrilling had happened during the past month on Midgard. But Loki was still very interested in Thor's life. Five years before, a patrol had come back to tell the young king Thor had become a father. A beautiful little girl was born and before Thor had had a choice, the Midgardian women had named her daughter Frigga. She named the girl after Loki's and Thor's mother who had died in order to protect the Aether which had hidden itself inside the Midgardian woman's body.  
Ever since that day Loki had found special interest in the little girl. He wanted to know what she would become being the child of an Asgardian and a Midgardian. But he didn't get any useful information. Thor tried to hide whatever talents she had from the rest of the world.

Loki sighed again, got up from his throne and walked over to the window.  
"Six years…," he muttered. Only six simple years ago, a breath in the life of a God, Loki had been imprisoned by his own brother. From the moment Frigga had died he had been scheming over a new, better plan. A plan of revenge. He knew his brother wanted revenge as much as he wanted, but he wasn't sure he would risk setting free his not to be trusted brother.  
The plan was formed within days, but could only work if Thor set him free. Loki saw no way out and for the first time in his life he let his grief take over his mind. And then, out of nowhere, Thor's little, mortal girlfriend turned up, carrying her own problem. But Loki didn't really care anymore, to be honest he never would have imagined Thor going against his king like that. Anyway, he had to think fast when Thor came to him for help. In the end he faked his own death, returned to Asgard disguised as a simple guard and told Odin about his son's death. After that it was almost too easy to take his throne. Loki put an illusion of himself in his former cell while he took the throne, disguised as Odin. The only problem left was Thor. Not that Loki couldn't handle it, he had a whole new plan ready. He was going to arrest Thor for being a traitor against his king by freeing Loki, but as turned out Thor just refused the throne and left.

A month after that, still in disguise, Loki declared himself king. Loki was Odin's only son left and after Thor's little speech about Loki being a better ruler, things just turned out exactly the way Loki wanted.

Six years later and nothing had changed. The Asgardians still believed he same story. Thor freed Loki, defeated the Dark Elves, saved the Earth and the other realms and in the end he brought Loki back to Asgard. There he refused the throne and left to live on Midgard.

Everyone who could be a thread was locked away. Except for one: Heimdall. He guarded the Bifröst and protected Asgard from intruders. Heimdall could see what happened on other worlds and therefore he knew Loki had faked his death. Loki knew Heimdall didn't trust him in the slightest, but he also knew Heimdall would never go against his king. So fare, nothing had gone wrong between Loki and Heimdall.

"My King?" a voice sounded through the throne room.

Loki, who was lost in thoughts, turned around a little too quickly and almost started shouting at the guard who just entered, but he could stop himself just in time. Even after all this time he couldn't fully hide his former self.

"Excuse me, my King, I didn't mean to startle you," the young guard said quickly. Loki tried to smile, but it didn't really work out so he decided to just get to the point.

"Why are you here?" he asked making sure he sounded at least a bit friendly.

"I bring word from Heimdall, Sire. He requested a hearing with you."

Loki sighed. Heimdall had been watching him. He quickly nodded as a sign he would go to see Heimdall. Sometimes he had the feeling Heimdall could read his mind. Or was this just a coincidence? The guard didn't seem to notice his king's unusual behaviour and just kept talking.

"Shall I inform the stables, Sire? How many guards will accompany you?"

Loki thought for a moment and nodded again.  
"Ready my horse and two other horses. I will arrive in a moment."

The guard bowed and left the room. Loki fetched his sceptre and followed.

"You two!" he commanded the two guards guarding the door leading to the throne room. "You will accompany me. I have to speak with Heimdall." The guards bowed and followed their king. Two other guards took their places at the door.

Ten minutes later Loki and the two guards left the palace. Outside, three horses were waiting. Loki greeted his steed by tapping on his neck.

"It's been a while…," he muttered.  
The guard who had informed Loki stepped forward. He held up Loki's golden helmet.

"Aren't you going to wear your helmet, Sire?" he asked cautiously.  
The guard knew Loki could just change his appearance at will, but since he never seemed to wear his helmet anymore, the Captain of the Guard had insisted to make an exact replica. But even then, their King refused to put it on.  
Loki looked at his helmet. Immediately his head was filled with horrifying memories. He didn't really understand why his helmet in particular seemed to bring back all those memories. Loki had tried to wear it again, as it was a symbol of power, but after the first months of his reign, Loki had put it aside and never changed his appearance again.

"Not today!" he said shortly. He and the guards mounted their horses and set of in a swift gallop. Loki in the middle, the two guards either at one side of their king, right behind him.

The fellowship crossed the rainbow bridge leading to the Bifröst. When they reached the Bifröst, Loki slowed down and dismounted his horse.

"Wait here for my return. I have to speak with Heimdall alone," he demanded the guards before walking into the Bifröst.  
Heimdall was standing in front, his sword held in both hands, point resting on the ground. His golden eyes pierced into the universe.

"You wanted to speak to me, Heimdall!" Loki called out. Heimdall didn't move until Loki was standing right beside him. He looked at his king and bowed his head.

"Indeed, my King. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I see it as my duty to speak my mind."

Loki shut his eyes for a second. He had a feeling he knew what was coming.  
"No need to apologize, speak your mind Heimdall. What is bothering you?"

Heimdall waited a few seconds before continuing.  
"It has been five years… With all due respect, Sire, but isn't it about time you tell your brother the truth?"

Loki smiled, but there was nothing friendly about his smile anymore.  
"Thor is not my brother and I will decide myself when it's the right time to tell him!"

"The longer you wait, the harder it gets…", Heimdall muttered.

"Know your place, Heimdall!" Loki shouted before he could stop himself. Immediately he realised that he had just said the same thing Thor always used to shout at him. He wanted to take it back. Not because he pitied Heimdall, but because it made him feel like he was changing into his brother.

"My apologies, my King…," Heimdall said in a low voice.

"Was there anything else?" Loki asked trying to put the incident behind him.

"Yes, Sire, it's about the whereabouts of your father, the Allfather."

A new wave of anger accompanied by a great feeling of panic raced through the young king's body.  
"Odin was never my father!" he hissed between clenched teeth. "What about him!"

"I know it's not of my concern, not anymore, but again, I must speak my mind!"  
Heimdall waited for Loki's permission to speak but his king just looked at him with withholding rage.  
"The Allfather suddenly disappeared from my view. He didn't die, I would see him entering Valhalla. The question that remains is: where is he then?"

For the first time Heimdall looked at Loki. His golden eyes pierced into his light grey eyes. Loki shivered. Again, he got the feeling Heimdall could read his thoughts. Loki found his courage and refused to break the eye contact. In a silent voice, almost a whisper, he answered.

"This is not of your concern indeed!"

Heimdall fixed his eyes on the universe before him.  
"Please accept my apologies, my King", he said.

It remained silent for a few minutes. It was Loki who started speaking again.

"Tell me, Heimdall, do you trust me?" he asked.

Heimdall didn't move when he answered.  
"It is not my job to question my king!"

Loki smiled again. No friendly touch to be found.  
"Then answer me one question: has Asgard or any other realm suffered from attacks or threats under my rule?"

"No, my King…" Heimdall answered shortly.

"In that case I think I'm doing my job quite good. All I ask from you is to do yours!"

"Of course, my King!" Heimdall answered, the sarcasm in his voice noticeably.

"Excellent!"  
Loki scowled. The conversation was finished. He was ready to leave, but something drew him back. Loki looked past Heimdall. The stars outside the Bifröst ogled. Loki looked behind him at the entrance of the Bifröst. For a second he saw himself dangling over the edge again. His father, no, Odin looked down at him.  
_"No, Loki!" _Loki heard him say. Again a dark emptiness filled his heart. He felt how the will to live slowly left his body. His fingers lost the grip on the sceptre and then... Thor, screaming his name in agony...

The young king swallowed and looked back at Heimdall. Why go back to Asgard? It was only a place filled with bad memories and nightmares. Why go back if he could leave it all behind, even if only for one day?

Loki made up his mind. Asgard was in perfect hands. The Captain of the Guard was a good man and Loki would be back soon! Besides, Loki knew just the perfect place to go. He walked back to Heimdall.

"Heimdall, send me to Jotunheim. Tell the guards outside to leave my horse and to go back to the palace. The Captain of the Guard is in charge while I'm gone!"

Heimdall casted a suspicious look on Loki.  
"May I ask what your business is on Jotunheim, my King?"

"No! You may not! Do as I say!" Loki demanded.

Heimdall walked towards the centre of the room and placed his sword in the hole there. The Bifrost started turning.  
"As you wish, Sire!" With that said he pushed the sword deeper into the ground. Loki felled how the rainbow grabbed him and sucked him away from Asgard. Loki enjoyed the ride. It had been a long time! But before he knew it, his feet touched the ground again.

The first sign that showed something was not right was the fact that Loki didn't feel any cold. His concerns where conformed when the dust had disappeared. Loki found himself in the middle of nowhere. The sun was shining, the sky was blue. Somewhere in the far distance emerged a huge city. Loki looked at the soil beneath his feet. Sand… He sighed.  
_You've got to be kidding me!_ he thought. Loki looked up at the city in the distance. A city he knew as New York in a place he knew as Midgard...

* * *

**So... That was the "official" start of my first fic! Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know...**  
**The first few chapters are written, so all I have to do is a bit of editing... You can expect an update pretty soon! :)**

**And for those who set their hopes on a Lokane fic, I'm sorry, but this isn't one of them... The original ships stay the same...**

**Anyway.. review or correct me if needed... (I know, there're probably some really weird sentences to be found...)**  
**and of course: ENJOY!**

**;) Rumple**


	3. Chapter 2

Hi! Some of you may have noticed I changed my K+ rating to T rated. That's because of this chapter, but really don't expect to much from it...

ENJOY! ( I had a lot of fun writing it!)

* * *

_**Chapter 2**_

Loki sighed. This couldn't be happening. He looked skywards.  
"Heimdall! Open the Bifröst!"

Loki waited, but nothing happened.  
"Heimdall! I demand you to open the Bifröst!" Loki shouted angrily, but still, nothing happened.

"Heimdall! Obey your King and open the Bifröst!" Nothing…

The young king walked around the circle the Bifröst had left on the ground. Frigga had taught Loki how to read the symbols of the Bifröst. Based on the old runes you could find out the place of departure and arrival and other stuff like the time needed to make the journey, the distance, …  
If something was wrong with the Bifröst itself, Loki would be able to read it in the circle. Everything seemed to be in order. Nothing wrong.  
Heimdall had send him to Earth on purpose!  
Loki had to admit; it couldn't been easy for Heimdall to deny an order of his king. But on the other hand, it wouldn't be the first time…

The only other possibility was that Heimdall was killed or now unable to use the Bifröst, for example: frozen at the entrance…  
No, Loki understood Heimdall's actions, kind off. Heimdall wanted him to tell Thor. Something that wasn't going to happen!

"You're a pathetic little man, Heimdall! Open the Bifröst now and I won't press any charges against you!" Loki called out. No answer.

"You're a fool! I am your King! Open the Bifröst! You really think you're little plan is going to work?"  
Nothing…

Loki growled angrily and looked down at his sceptre which was still in his right hand. Why did he even bring that useless thing? How could he be so stupid? The sceptre could set the Bifröst in motion by itself! He had given in to his own desire without thinking, too afraid of the unforgotten memories in Asgard. Now he was stuck on this bloody planet an even worse: Asgard had no king! The Captain was a good man, but he was no king. How long would it take for him to crave for more power?

Loki casted one last furious look at the sky.  
_Don't lose it now… Use your brain! _he said to himself. Heimdall would – possibly - only open the Bifröst for Thor and to achieve that, Loki needed to tell his brother the truth.  
Another option was to wait for the next patrol to come down, but that would at least take a month since the last patrol had just come back. Besides, Heimdall would possibly send them to the other side of the city. By the time Loki would have found them it would be – presumably – too late again. Loki wasn't even sure Heimdall would send any more patrols down. He could see everything easily from his place in the Bifröst. The only reason Loki had send the patrols down instead of just asking Heimdall, was to stop his brother from coming to Asgard if necessary.

Loki sighed and cursed under his breath. He was back where he had started. The young king looked up again and fixed his light grey eyes on the perfect blue sky.

"One last chance, Heimdall! I command you to open the Bifröst. You are committing treason of the biggest sort! Odin may have been easy on you, but I am not him! If I really need to, I can replace you a thousand times!"  
Loki knew that that last thing was a lie. You couldn't just replace someone like Heimdall, but it was worth trying.

"If anything happens to Asgard while I'm gone, it's all on you! Ask yourself, my friend, can you take the blame? Asgard and his inhabitants are not save without a real king!"

Loki kept shouting everything he could think of, but nothing he said seemed to impress the guardian. Suddenly, Loki saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned around and stood face to face with an old Midgardian. The old man looked at him with big watery eyes full of confusion out of the window of his pick-up. He was wearing a straw hat and seemed to be chewing on some sort of reed. His chin was covered in stubbles. Loki shivered. That was the second human being who succeeded to sneak up on him and to be honest, he liked the first one a lot more than this old, ugly fool. He hadn't even realised he had landed nearby a dusty road.  
Loki realised he had been standing shouting at the sky, waving around a ridiculous sceptre, wearing his usual clothes. Not to mention the strange markings on the ground, but still he looked at the man and said in his most Loki-alike voice: "What are you looking at?"

The man seemed to hesitate and Loki got the feeling the Midgardian didn't recognize him.

"How old are you, son, 'cuz you seem like one of those weirdo youngsters who dress up like these so called superheroes…"

Loki looked bewildered.  
"Excuse me! You think I'm one of you? A puny Midgardian? How dare you!"

The man didn't seem taken back. He just raised his eyebrows and set back in his chair.  
"All right, all right, pretty boy! It was only a question!"

"Pretty what!" Loki shouted. This Midgardian had nerve… whatever pretty boy meant.  
"You think it's smart to challenge me, old man?" he added in his most creepy voice.

The old man finally seemed to be getting scared.  
"Calm down, feller, I was thinking about offering you a ride, but now I just think you're a fucking psychopath! See ye!"

Before Loki could say anything else, the man drove off like a bullet from a gun and disappeared in the distance. It took Loki quite some time before he understood what just had happened.  
"Smart, Loki, really smart…" he muttered. That was his chance to get away from here!

Loki rubbed his eyes. Shouting to Heimdall didn't have any use. He had to come up with a plan. If only he could find a way to let Thor open the Bifröst without him finding out the truth…  
Suddenly, an idea sprang to the young king's mind. It wasn't perfect, but he could work out the rest once he had arrived on Asgard. If needed he would spend some more time in disguise.  
The plan was simple. He would change his appearance to Odin's. He would find Thor and tell him, disguised as the Allfather, he had found out about his grandchild and he really wanted to meet her after all this years. Afterwards he would persuade Thor in coming with him, back to Asgard. Thor would open the Bifröst. Heimdall wouldn't be able to ignore an order from his favourite prince. Otherwise Thor would think something was wrong and Loki was certain Heimdall didn't want Thor to worry to much.

Now he only needed… A ride! Far away, Loki heard a car getting near. He had to think fast. Loki changed himself into a common, young Midgardian en hid the strange circle with a simple illusion. Now he only needed to wait. When the car came closer Loki stepped in the middle of the road. The car stopped and a middle-aged man leaned out of the window.

"What's your problem? Standing in the middle of the road!" he called out with a hoarse voice. The man's piercing blue eyes investigated every inch of Loki and his surroundings. Loki did the same. In his opinion this guy must have been handsome according to human standards, because he made him think of Thor with his blond hair, bright eyes and muscled body. But above all he looked incredibly stupid. Perfect!

The young king had to try hard not to shout at the man like he had done before with the old guy. He cleared his mind.  
_Come on, Loki _he spoke to himself. _Get yourself together! You never had any problem with pretending…  
_Loki cleared his throat.

"I was just wondering if I could get a ride to the city. My girlfriend just dropped me here in the middle of nowhere…" he said grinning stupidly.  
"So much fuss about a stupid misunderstanding… women, you know...nothing but trouble"

The man grinned back and Loki knew he was dealing with a complete idiot. The young king knew better than to insult a woman, but that could be the result of living alongside Sif his whole life…

"Yeah man, no kidding…" the man answered. Again he looked at Loki like he was searching for something.  
"That's why I don't date chicks, dude, I prefer our own kind… if you know what I mean", he added in a whisper.

It took some time for Loki to understand what the guy before him had just said. An rather awkward thought crossed his mind and one wink of the man confirmed his fears. He should of known it was just too good to be true… Loki closed his eyes.  
_Typical… Why does this had to happen to me… _he thought. _Why can't things just be easy for once…  
_Loki opened his eyes again and found the man staring at him again with a hungry kind of look in his eyes.  
The young king sighed. Oh, well, what other choice did he have… How bad could it be…

Loki forced his face into what he hoped to be a flirting smile. "I think we understand each other…" he answered in a whisper while he walked to the car. The man grinned.

"I think you just got yourself a free ride to New York…" he said.  
Loki had to do his best not to run away. Instead he walked over to the other side of the car, opened the door and sat down next to the driver.

"You know, I never expected to meet someone like me in a place like this…" the gay man said throwing a flirty look on his new passenger.

Loki forced himself to keep up the smile.  
"Let's call it fate…" the young king answered.

The man giggled in a rather girly way and drove off.  
"So what's your name, beauty?" he asked.

Loki's eyes grew big. What did that idiot just call him? He looked out of the window, hiding his face from the man.  
"Tony…", Loki answered shortly, saying the first name that came up in his mind. The man next to him giggled again.

"What a beautiful name… I'm Stuart… Stuart Jhonson… So what brings an innocent feller like you to a city as New York?"

Loki got the feeling he had to throw up. Couldn't this guy just shut up!  
"I'm visiting … my brother…" he said, immediately hating himself for calling Thor his brother.

"Hmmm, what about your brother…" Stuart said throwing meaningful looks at his passenger. Loki needed all his strength to keep himself from laughing. The smile that appeared on his face seemed to be the answer to Stuart's question.

"I see," he said mysterious, "maybe we could meet each other one of these days… what's his name?"

Loki looked out of the window again. Even his splendid, deceiving, acting skills were no match for this.  
"Bruce…", Loki answered, again saying the first name coming to his mind.

"Another beautiful name…", Stuart said dreamily.

A short silence filled the car. Loki was delighted to see them driving into New York. He wanted to get out of this car as fast as possible, but on the other hand… The young king didn't know a thing about New York accept that it was huge. It only seemed logical to drive all the way to Thor's house.  
On second thought, maybe not. It seemed safer if this guy didn't know where Loki was going…  
Loki tried to remember where the patrols said Thor lived. All he knew was that Thor visited Stark Tower every now and then an that he liked to spend time in Central Park.

"So where do I need to drop you of?" Stuart asked while they were waiting for a red light to turn green again. Loki was still making up his mind and Stuart saw his chance.

"You can always come to my place if you like!"

Loki swallowed and quickly declined the offer.  
"No, thank you. My brother is waiting for me at Central Park."

Stuart looked quite disappointed. The light changed green again and he turned right. Loki was almost certain he was taking a longer way and that he wasn't going to give up that fast.

"Maybe we could meet again sometime…" Stuart continued while letting an old woman cross the street, ignoring all the angry faces around him.

"Yeah maybe, I would like that…" Loki forced himself to say. He was getting nervous of this man's slowness.

"Can I have your phone number? So we can hold contact!" Stuart added happily.  
Loki was having trouble focussing on the conversation. He wanted to get out of this car right now! Feverishly he tried to remember what a phone number was for…

"I lost my phone yesterday, sorry…" he answered quickly.

"Oh, that's a shame." Stuart went on, driving ten miles slower than he was supposed to be. Loki could see bits of a huge park at the end of the streets they past. Central Park he supposed.

"Your Facebook…. Twitter maybe?"

"I don't have those", Loki said sharply not knowing what any of these things were.

"E-mail? Address?", Stuart continued, now finally turning left toward Central Park. Loki, who still didn't understand a word the man was saying, pretended to look on the digital watch of the radio.

"Daim! I'm already ten minutes late!" he cried out. "I'm sorry, but aren't we there yet?"

Stuart scowled and parked the car near an entrance of Central Park.  
"I was just wondering where you live…", he tried again.

Loki opened the door and jumped out of the car.  
"Sorry! No time!" he shouted while crossing the street, risking his own life. Right now he just wanted to get the hell out of that car.

"Wait!" Stuart called out desperately.  
"Can you at least tell me your last name?"

But Loki had already disappeared between the visitors of Central Park.

* * *

I know, it's short, but trust me! The next chapies will be a bit longer...

Just to be clear: Loki's not gay! I'm just trying to show you his perspective on humans. As you can see, he doesn't quite understand how they work and react and therefor Loki goes extreme! :)

Hope you enjoyed it! Review please! ;)


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Loki walked for almost an hour before getting rid of his most disturbing memory of his life. Before he realised it, the young king found himself lost inside Central Park. Now he came to think of it. He didn't even know for sure Thor would be here today. According to the information he got from the patrols, he and his family only visited on Saturdays, during the afternoon. According to the clock in the car it had been two o'clock in the afternoon. Now Loki only had to find out what day it was. For a second he thought about asking a passer-by, but he didn't want to look like a complete freak, so he quickly forgot about his idea.

After another ten minutes strolling around, Loki saw a little shop at the side of the path. It sold stuff like ice cream, soda and… newspapers. Obviously he had no human money on him right now. Loki could of course just create an illusion, but he had no idea what human money looked like. Therefore the young king decided to just stroll past the stand and take a swift look at the newspapers, but because Loki had no idea where to find the date, it took him a little longer than he initially meant.  
The shop owner, a big man in a way to tiny shop, looked at him looking irritated.

"He, dude! Are ye gonna by the bloody thing or not?" he said harshly between the smacking of his chewing gum.  
Loki looked up at the big guy. He realised his new appearance was two heads smaller than the bodybuilder in front of him, but the young king was starting to get enough of these mortal's stupidity. He really had been facing to many idiots in one day and it was starting to bump him out.

"Human!" he hissed. "I've fought guys who were ten times bigger, smarter, stronger and better looking than you. So if I were you, I would shut my greedy mouth and keep quiet. You really don't want any trouble with me…"

The shop owner's face turned red. Furiously he slammed his meaty fist on the counter. The people standing around them went quiet.  
"You think you're smart, little man?" he asked in a whisper. "Turn around now and run back to your sweet, ugly mommy. I think she made pancakes for you…"

Loki didn't move a muscle and kept an nonchalant expression on his face.  
"That', he started, "was a really stupid thing to say…"

If possible, the crowd went even more quiet. Loki got the feeling this guy was a known agitator and that everyone was freaking scared of him.  
The fat face of the man turned purple. He slowly walked away from the back of his stand, showing a pile of empty beer cans. Loki took a step back to give the man the chance to put his massive body in front of the stand.  
"I gave you a chance, pal. You're lucky I'm in a generous mood today. One more chance to run away and never show me your stupid face again."

Loki didn't move. He just stood there, keeping up the eye contact. A small, challenging smile formed on his lips.  
He may've been looking like a common, puny, soft Midgardian, but that did not mean he didn't keep his own strength and fighting skills.

The shop owner had had enough. He raised his fist, ready to smash it on Loki's face, but before he got a chance to attack, Loki slipped underneath his outstretched arm. The man missed him with inches. Confused he looked around, but Loki had already grabbed his other arm and kicked hard against the man's left shin. The grotesque shop owner screamed and turned around furiously. Exactly what Loki wanted him to do. The young king ducked under the man's swinging left arm, grabbed his right one and tucked it behind his back. Using his true strength, Loki grabbed his attackers head and smashed it hard on the counter of the newspaper stand.

Everything had happened so quickly that the shop owner had had no time to defend himself. He was now lying, confused and dazed, with his head on his own counter while the strange man was holding him down with an incredibly great strength.

Loki leaned over the body of the shop owner.  
"Like I said… You. Don't. Want. Any. Trouble. With. Me."

The fat man tried to nod, but that only made Loki push him harder on the counter.  
"Yes, sir…" he squeaked in agony. Loki smiled evilly.

"I'm happy we understand each other… Next time you see me, you better run… Am I making myself clear?"

"Cristal clear, sir…" the shop owner peeped.

"Excellent!" Loki suddenly called out. He let go of the man's head and stepped back. The groaning man tried to get on his feet again. Loki looked around. Everybody was staring at him in an admiring way. He knew it wasn't necessary, but the young king just wanted to finish this in the right way. He looked back at the stand and his eye fell on a red, plastic bottle filled with a brown fluid. It looked disgusting, but he had noticed that many people were drinking it, so it had to be good.

Loki fixed his attention back on the shop owner. He smiled and pulled the man towards him. The man yelped and closed his eyes, waiting for Loki's attack. But the young king let go of the man's sweaty T-shirt and cleaned of the dirt on his shoulders.

"One more thing, _pal_", Loki whispered sarcastically just loud enough so the crowd would hear every word.  
The young king waited a few seconds and watched the fat man swallow in fear. Then, without warning he kicked right between the man's legs. The shop owner squealed and sank to his knees, not able to keep the tears from his eyes. Loki looked down at him, his eyes filled with cold hatred. He kneeled right before the defeated man and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Next time you insult my mother I make sure you'll join her in death!"

The man nodded fiercely, but that wasn't enough for Loki.

"What did you say?" he asked viciously.

"Yes, Sir…", the man yelped in pain.

Loki nodded approvingly. Suddenly a friendly smile appeared on his face.  
"See, that wasn't that difficult. You're getting smarter already!" he said happily.  
With that said, Loki got to his feet again and grabbed a bottle of the potion that was called _Coca Cola_. He kneeled before the shop owner and asked in his most innocent voice: "Can I have this, beating someone's ass make's you thirsty…" The man nodded quickly. Loki raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, sir, of course…" the man said in a hoarse voice.

Loki smiled.  
"Thank you very much, my friend!"

Loki turned around and was ready to leave when someone suddenly appeared.

"What's going on here?" a voice called out from the crowd. Police? No. Way better!

Out of the crowd came a small woman. She had long, brown hair and her face said: I'm a know-it-all! A stern look covered her, obviously, young face while she inspected the situation like a real scientist. Loki was paralysed for a moment. Finally things were beginning to turn out right! Out all people, Jane Foster needed to intervene! After a few seconds Loki realised he had been staring at Thor's girlfriend way to long. He quickly forced his friendly smile back on his face and held up the bottle.

"Nothing, miss, just a slight misunderstanding…" he said innocently.  
Jane squeezed her eyes to a minimum and observed the stranger standing before her. Afterwards she threw a quick look on the shop keeper who was still sitting on the ground.

"You kicked that idiot's ass?" she asked suspiciously. Loki grinned.

"I'm stronger than I look, sweetheart. Why don't you come with me, then I'll show you…" he said flirty.

Jane opened her mouth in awe.  
"You dick!" she cried out while raising her hand to hit Loki in the face, but the young king saw it coming – this time – and caught her hand in mid-air. A dirty frown appeared on his forehead.

"Oh, sassy..." Loki whispered. "I like that!"

Jane freed herself from Loki's grip.  
"Get out of here, you freak!" she shouted.

Loki winked and before anyone could do something, he disappeared in the crowd, leaving behind a confused and shocked Jane Foster.

* * *

Yes, I know, I promissed a longer chapie... But hey, I uploaded two chapies for you guys in one day! ;)

Let me know what you think! I had a lot of fun writing this one! I hope you like it as much as I do!

x :)


	5. Chapter 4

As promised, this chapie is a bit longer ;) Enjoy! x

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

Loki couldn't believe his luck. He quickly made his way through the crowd and hid himself behind some trees. There he watched the crowd fall apart. Jane Foster was still standing in the middle of the road, trying to get a grip on what just had happened. Perfect! At the side of the road the shop keeper tried to get on his feet again, but Loki was not interested in him. He kept a close eye on Jane while she slowly made her way for a bench at the other side of the path, rubbing her arm confusedly.

Loki slowly opened the bottle of Coca Cola and tasted the brown fluid. A sprinkling sensation spread threw his whole mouth. The young king looked surprised at the bottle. Even though he wouldn't easily admit it, this Midgardian drink was rather good.

Suddenly Jane got up from the bench and left. Loki screwed the cap back on the bottle, changed his appearance into that of an old man and left his hiding place to follow Thor's girlfriend. He made sure to keep some distance between himself and Jane. Especially after what just had happened, she would be more paranoia.

Five minutes later Jane slowed down near a small playground. Loki who was walking in front of her now, pretending to admire the flowers, heard her talk to herself.

"Smile, Jany! Otherwise Thor's gonna be worried and nobody likes a worried Thor…" she said softly.  
"Nothing happened. It was just a stupid freak! Smile Jany!"

Loki shook his head. Pathetic! He turned around and saw Jane forcing a smile on her face before entering the playground. Loki followed her to the back of the playground. There he found a small swing. There were only two people. All the other kids were romping on the climbing frame or were playing stuff like hide and seek. Jane walked towards the tall, big man behind the swing and kissed him softly on the cheek. The man smiled and kissed her back.  
Loki almost needed to puke! _Oh please… _he thought while sitting down on a bench halfway the playground. Still, for the first time in five years he saw his brother again. He had to admit he was surprised. Thor was wearing a green shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of white sneakers. Not only did he look… normal. Loki was certain Thor had gained some weight… just a little…

But the most interesting person on the sight was the little girl on the swing. Loki couldn't keep his eyes of here. She was beautiful indeed. Frigga had long, blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was laughing and yelling louder every time her father pushed her again. Higher and higher. She wanted higher and higher. And every time she cried in excitement, Frigga showed her beautiful smile and Loki found himself smiling.  
For the first time ever he finally saw his …well… niece! Somewhere deep inside a sudden feeling took over his heart. Was that… jealousy? Loki shook his head in confusion. No! he couldn't give anything about the daughter of his arrogant brother and that woman who got his mother killed ! He left the bench and disappeared between the trees again. It was time to put his plan in motion.

The young king walked closer towards the couple, making sure he stayed out of their view. Now Loki was standing so close, he could follow the conversation.

Jane Foster looked lovingly at her happy, little daughter.  
"Thor, darling, let her play with the other kids, please…", she said with a friendly voice. "It won't hurt her…"

But Thor shook his head and a serious frown appeared on his handsome face.  
"I'm sorry, Jane, but that's not safe!"

Jane sighed and let go of her husband's shoulder.  
"Oh, come on! They're only kids! And by the way, scientific research shows us that interaction with peers is necessary in the education of a young child!" Jane added with a meaningful grin.

"Of course… because _scientific research _is always right…" Thor answered sarcastically while pushing his daughter again.

Jane's smile disappeared and made place for a rather angry scowl. She crossed her arms before her chested and answered: "I'm not saying that! You always put words in my mou…"

Jane couldn't finish her little speech because Thor interrupted her by kissing her right on the mouth. Jane quickly backed away, blushing when she did.  
"Thor!" she whispered. "People are watching!"

Thor grinned again and put his arm around Jane.  
"Are they?" he whispered back in her ear. Jane hit her husband playfully in the stomach.

Loki, who had seen everything from his hideout between the trees felt sick. _Oh please… _he thought again. _Can they be anymore disgusting?_  
Anyway, he had to put his plan in motion. Loki concentrated and changed himself into Odin. Again he found himself carrying that ridicules sceptre, but since the Allfather always seemed to carry it around wherever he went, he had to keep it close for a little while longer. Now he only had to wait for the right moment to appear.

Frigga, who had had enough of the awkward behaviour of her parents, jumped from the swing while it was still in the air and ran off to a deserted sandpit.

"Frigga! Wait!", Thor called out. He stretched out his arm, ready to stop his daughter, but Jane stopped him.

"Thor, really, let her be. It 's only a sandpit. Thrust me, I'm sure that Central Park made sure there aren't any man eating monsters hiding in their sandpits… This is Earth, not pointy-evil-elf-planet!"

"Svartalfheim…", Thor corrected her without taking his eyes of Frigga who had started filling a little bucket with sand.

"_Gesundheit_!" Jane answered sarcastically. She took Thor's face in her hands and forced him to look at her.  
"Really, Thor, you're the last one I expected to be such a worried father!"

"I agree with Jane Foster, my son!" a low voice suddenly sounded over the playground. Thor and Jane looked up bewilderedly. They both reorganized the voice, but never expected to hear it here, off all places. Thor's eyes grew big.

"Father?" he said with disbelief. Jane, who realised how close she was standing to Thor, not to mention the fact that Odin probably had witnessed everything that had happened during the last minutes, quickly let go of Thor's face and took a step back.

A huge smile covered Thor's face. He stepped forward and bowed his head.  
"Father! What brings you here?"

Loki smiled in exactly the same way Odin always used to.  
"Heimdall told me about my beautiful grandchild and now, after all these years, I want to see and meet her…"

Thor looked at his father in amazement. Jane looked at the Allfather feeling more ashamed than ever!

"I wanted to come sooner, but I think that she wouldn't have understood…" Loki continued, now looking past Thor at the little girl who was playing in the sandpit without noticing what was going on.

"Of course father…" Thor finally answered.

Loki smiled and looked at Jane.  
"Don't be ashamed, Jane Foster. It's my son who should be ashamed of himself…" he said friendly. Jane managed to smile, but she couldn't find her voice to speak. Loki didn't pay attention to her and turned to Thor again, a rather serious expression covering Odin's face.

"Didn't I brought you up showing you the dangers of the real world, my son? It made you strong and a true leader…"

Thor smiled and raised his eyebrows.  
"If you're here to ask me again to take the throne, my answer hasn't changed, father."

Loki tried to make Odin look surprised, but it seemed the Allfather wasn't really capable of doing that.  
"It was worth trying anyway…but enough about us, my son…" he continued. Loki turned back to Jane and took her hand.  
"I believe I need to congratulate you both with your marriage…Welcome to the family Jane Foster!" the young king said while softly kissing Jane's hand in the same way Thor had done the first time they met.

Jane didn't know what to say, so she grinned rather stupidly and stuttered:  
"Thank you, sir…, I mean Sire! I mean Odin… Allf.."

Loki smiled reassuring.  
"No need to be nervous miss… You make my son happy, that is something I did not accomplish…"

"Father…", Thor started, but Loki interrupted him.

"Not another word! Enough talking. I want to see my grandchild!" he said in excitement. Thor and Jane glanced at each other. They didn't need any words to understand each other… Why not?

"We named her Frigga, father…", Thor explained while escorting Loki towards the sandpit.

A sudden sad look appeared on Loki's face. He didn't need to fake his grieve for Frigga's death.  
"An excellent name… I am sure she is a beautiful as her grandmother…"

Thor and Loki walked in silence until they reached the sandpit. Frigga didn't notice their presence and kept playing happily in the sand while singing a funny song. Again Loki felt a familiar pain in his heart, but he ignored it.

The young girl was busy building something. Next to her Loki could see a pile of little puppets, all starring to the sky with an empty glare in their black eyes.

"Frigga, sweetheart," Thor started nervously, "there's someone I would like you to meet…"

The young girl turned around while brushing her long, golden hair out of her face using her in sand covered hands. Her eyes first met Thor's before she fixed on the old, weird looking man next to her father. Behind the two men she saw her mother casting meaningful looks. Frigga clapped her hands together to get rid of the sand and tried to smile.

"Good day sir….", she said silently. Thor smiled.

"Frigga, remember the stories mummy and I used to tell you?"

Loki smirked. _Mummy…_ he thought in disgust. No one seemed to notice his behaviour.

Thor kneeled in front of his daughter.  
"All the stories about Lady Sif and the Worriers Three?"

A big smile appeared on the little girl's face and she nodded.  
"Yes! Daddy!" she called out happily.

_Daddy… Please! _Loki was trying hard not to show any emotion. He was Odin now and Odin always looked like a boring, emotionless, senile liar!

"You remember what I told you about my, our, family?" Thor continued.

Frigga nodded again. She casted a swift look on the old man before her.

"Well then, Frigga, I would like you to meet The Allfather! Odin, King of Asgard and my father", Thor finished. He turned around and looked Loki in the eyes.  
"Father, this is Frigga…"

Frigga's eyes grew big. Before anyone could stop her, she ran forward and threw her little arms around Loki's legs. Loki froze. Never, ever, had anyone hugged him, except for his mother, but that was a long, long time ago…

"Grandpa!" The little girl shouted.

Thor who saw his father freeze on spot, understood that Odin wasn't used to this kind of affection. The God of Thunder quickly pulled his daughter away from his father. Frigga looked startled. What had she done wrong?

"I'm sorry, father, she didn't mean…" Thor tried to explain, but Loki who had quickly adapted to the situation, just smiled.

"No need to apologize, my son. I like her enthusiasm. I see she got that from you…"

Thor seemed to relax and turned to his daughter. The little girl didn't know what was going on and was almost crying. Again, Loki took his chance. What better way to gain Thor's trust. He kneeled next to Thor, making sure he didn't do it too fast. He was an old, cracking man after all…  
"Don't be frightened, child, you did nothing wrong… do not cry."

Frigga almost seemed convinced so Loki put in his final card.  
"If you show me that beautiful smile of yours once more, you can hold my sceptre for a while… I'm sure your father told you all about it's magical powers…" he whispered mysteriously. Frigga smiled and nodded.

"Did you really defeated the whole frost giant's army with it?", the young girl whispered in excitement.  
Auw! Frigga had touched a week spot… For a moment Loki almost forgot what he was doing. All he wanted was to wipe that filthy liar, Thor, clean of the earth, but he managed to keep calm.

Loki came closer and snapped his fingers.  
"Just like that!" he answered.

Frigga starred at him in trance. Her bright eyes fixed on the golden staff Loki was holding in his right hand. Without further notice Loki handed the sceptre to the little girl. Frigga almost lost grip on the heavy thing, but she just managed to keep it upright. Thor looked at his girl in concern.

"Are you sure it's safe?" he asked cautiously.

Loki got back on his feet and nodded.  
"She doesn't know how to use it, so yes, it's entirely safe!"

"All right then…" Thor said silently.

"What happened to you, my son? When you grew up you did not want to do anything else then fighting. Defeating every enemy was your biggest dream!"

Thor smiled at his father.  
"I'm sorry, father, but I think that's exactly the problem."

A confused frown appeared on the Allfather's face.

"I grew up, knowing every danger out there. I've seen death and suffering. I've seen what's out there, father. I was there when my own mother died and I saw my brother die while he was protecting me and the women I love…"

Thor waited a few seconds. Deep sorrow spread over his face. Even Loki couldn't help showing a sign of pain. He still blamed Thor for Frigga's death. If he and that stupid old idiot hadn't locked him away, Loki would have been able to save his mother's life. But also the fact that Thor still mourned him, awoke a new feeling inside the young king's chest. It almost felt like… guilt… No! That wasn't possible! Loki ignored it. Meanwhile Thor went on with his story.

"I just don't want all that for her, father. I want her to be happy and safe from danger and my past."

Loki nodded.  
"I do not understand you entirely, but I respect your decision, my son. I just want to spent some time with my grandchild, that's all I will ever ask from you."

Thor looked at his daughter. Frigga was running around the sandpit, waving with the golden sceptre.  
"Of course, father. I think she already likes you by the way…" he answered.

Loki looked at the child and nodded.  
"Well, she does like the sceptre… maybe one day she'll become queen…" Loki cautiously added. He knew he was taking a risk, mentioning Asgard so soon. But on the other hand: if Thor declined the offer now, Loki would be able to cover it up easily.

Thor smirked. He had had the feeling his father would start talking about Asgard. But he had made his decision a long time ago.  
"I am truly sorry, father, but I will stay here on Earth with Jane. Frigga will grow up here. Nevertheless, I keep to my word: If Asgard or any of the nine realm ever need me, I will be there to help!"

Loki pretended to be a bit disappointed. In a way he was, though. He now knew it would be harder to convince Thor into coming to Asgard. But that were problems for later. Maybe if he gained Thor's trust a bit more – through Frigga of course – maybe he could get his brother to open the Bifrost for him in the end.

"It was worth trying…" Loki said with a grin on Odin's face.  
"Forget what I said. I am here to get to know my grandchild and to spent some time with my family. You must understand, my son, you are the only family I have left in the whole universe…"

There! A frown of compassion appeared on Thor's face. One step closer again!

"Of course, father", Thor said silently.

Suddenly Jane appeared.  
"Thor, darling, can you help me for a moment. I lost my contact over there and I can't find it…", Jane said innocently while throwing meaningful looks at her husband. Loki pretended not to see.

Thor frowned and nodded.  
"Father," he started, "would you mind to keep an eye on Frigga, we won't be long…"

Loki turned around and pretended to be surprised.  
"Of course! Don't you worry! Go and find your contact-thing…"

Jane didn't wait for anything else. She pulled Thor away from the scene until they disappeared behind a turn.  
Loki sighed. That was officially the lamest excuse he'd ever heard in his whole life!

"That was officially the lamest excuse I've heard in my whole life!" Thor shouted between clenched teeth. "You don't even have contacts! What's this all about anyway?"

Jane looked over Thor's shoulder to make sure Odin wouldn't see them.  
"I'm sorry!" she whispered. "I couldn't think of anything else. It always works in the movies!"

Thor raised his eyebrows. Jane sighed.  
"All right! It's just… couldn't you warn me. That's your dad over there! The same dad who didn't really like me the first time… remember. That wasn't what I would call a good first impression!"

Thor smirked.  
"Seriously? You're still making fuss about that? He did and still does like you. He just has his own way of showing it…"

"Maybe, but still, you could have warned me… He scared the hell out of me!"

"I didn't know he was coming! It's not like we got cell phones on Asgard…"

Jane frowned.  
"Well, my cell phone worked on pointy-evil-elf planet… no denying that…"

"I'm sorry, but we don't usually have portals between worlds like that… It kind of interferes with the reach…", Thor answered sarcastically. "And by the way, you still haven't told me who Richard is?"

"Who cares!" Jane shouted frustrated. "And then there's another thing: tell me if I'm wrong, but I'm quite sure my daughter is playing with a sceptre that can kill armies on its own!"

Thor smiled and took Jane in his arms.  
"That sceptre is completely harmless! Only one who knows how to use it, can use it as a weapon. Don't worry, Frigga is no danger…"

"I hope not…", Jane whispered against Thor's chest. Suddenly she saw something in the corner of her eye. Something shiny was coming their way. Thor looked up in surprise.

"My prince…" a voice sounded.

Loki walked over to the sandpit, to Frigga. She had put down the sceptre and was playing in the sand again. Loki kneeled next to her. Frigga seemed to be working on some kind of… thing. Little piles of sand were spread through the sandpit. For a moment Loki forgot who he was and before he could stop himself, he heard the words coming out of his mouth…

"What is that!" he asked in a really Odin unlikely way.

Frigga looked up from her work. A scowl appeared on her pretty face.  
"It's… it's a castle…"she stuttered.

Loki immediately understood he had said something stupid.  
"Of course!" he tried. "A castle, can you show me around?" he asked in his most friendly voice he could manage.

A smile formed on Frigga's lips. She picked up a doll from the pile next to here and showed it to Loki.  
"This is Daddy! He is the King of the castle!" she said while putting the doll in the sand in front of what should be the door. Loki had to try hard not to rip the doll out of the girl's hands. Thor… king…

Frigga went on. She picked up a second doll. This time it was a woman.  
"That's mommy, she's the queen!" the little girl explained. She put the doll next to the first one.  
"And this," Frigga said while picking up a little doll with a funny pink dress, "this is me! The princess!" Frigga put the little princess doll with the other two dolls.  
"I can play the whole day! And I have lots of friends. They're all princes and princesses and knights! Even the girls can be warriors!" the little girl continued while placing all the other dolls everywhere around the piles of sand.

Loki looked at the sandpit. He just had to ask! He couldn't stop himself!  
"What about your daddy's brother? Where's he?" Loki asked. Frigga looked confused.

"Brother?" she asked.

Loki immediately understood Thor had never told Frigga about him… Not that he really cared, but why… A few minutes ago he seemed to care about him, but still, he had never mentioned him in any of the stories… And what about the Battle of New York? What did he tell her about that.  
Loki had to think quickly.  
"No, no, forget what I said. It wasn't even his real brother… just forget about it, child…" he said. Frigga still looked a bit confused.

"My name is Frigga…", she said eventually.

Loki nodded and smiled.  
"Of course, Frigga! My apologies…"

The little girl laughed. It remained silent for a moment.

"Where're mummy and daddy?" Frigga asked.

Loki felt sick. This _mummy and daddy-_stuff was starting to annoy him. He looked around.  
"Good question. Let's find out, shall we… Your mother said she had lost her contact, maybe we can help searching!"

Frigga jumped to her feet and handed Loki the sceptre. Together they walked toward the corner facing the rest of the playground.

"Do you have a big castle on Asgard?" Frigga suddenly asked. Loki looked down at the girl hopping next to him.

"Oh yes, I've got a really big one! Almost as big as the one you build today!"

Frigga smiled.  
"And are there any princesses?"

Loki's smile faded.  
"No, not really, not anymore…", he said quietly.

Frigga frowned.  
"Then you need one! Can I be the princess?"

Thor looked up. Before him stood three Asgardian guards. All in shining armour.

"My prince!" the leader repeated.

Before he could say anything else, Thor stepped forward.  
"What are you doing here?" he asked. The guards bowed.

"The Captain send us. He wanted to check if our King was all right."

"Your King?" Thor asked. "Didn't he tell you where he was going?"

The guards shook their heads. Thor looked confused.

"My father never leaves like that! He must have told the Captain where he was going…"

The guards looked startled. For a moment they looked at each other. Thor noticed it.  
"What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Your father, Sire?" the leader asked.

"Yes my father! The Allfather! Your King!" Thor shouted. Some people started to throw angry glares at them.

"My apologies, my prince, but we are here on behalf of King Loki…"

Thor wanted to answer, but the words got stuck in his throat. He stared at the guards. The three men didn't know what to do. Thor looked at Jane, to make sure she had heard the same thing he did. The expression of disbelief on her face conformed.

"What?" Thor finally said. "Loki died… I was there… I told father…", he stuttered.

The guards looked at their prince in disbelief.  
"My prince, the Allfather gave the throne to prince Loki, your brother, five years ago…"

"What? But…" Thor tried, but he couldn't think of anything to say. His thoughts were racing through his head. This couldn't be true! He saw Loki die! His brother had died in his arms! He never made it back to Asgard!

Slowly the pieces found their place. Thor started to understand. It had all been a trick. Loki had tricked him, again!

An enormous joy filled his body, but only to be put aside by the uncontrollable rage that followed. Once again, he had thought his brother dead! And once again he had returned!

"Where is my father now?" he asked in a whisper.

The guard who could detected the rage in his prince's words, answered cautiously.  
"No one knows for sure, Sire. He left right after prince Loki had been crowned king. They say he has been traveling the nine reals and beyond ever since…"

Thor nodded and looked at Jane. They didn't need words to express their thought's.

Suddenly Loki, still disguised as Odin, appeared behind Thor.  
"We'll see about that…", he said to Frigga, before looking up at the rest.

The guards froze.  
"My King!" the leader said before kneeling down.  
But it weren't the guards Loki saw first. Thor was staring at him with a weird kind of look in his eyes. A mixture of hatred, sadness, betrayal and so much more.

Loki didn't have to know what had happened. One look at the situation was enough.

Thor suppressed the desire to kill the man in front of him. He couldn't think anymore. He couldn't speak.. the only thing that came out of his mouth was:  
"Loki…"

* * *

So... What now...

Let me know what you think!

;) x


	6. Chapter 5

Sorry guys, this is a short one, but I'll try uploading as soon as possible... ;) ENJOY!

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

A rather awkward silence filled the air. Especially the Asgardian guards who had no idea what to think, looked quit scared and confused. One them thought his prince had lost his mind. The other one feared he had looked past his current king, King Loki, and their leader understood Odin was in fact Loki, but he couldn't think of any reason why Thor wouldn't know that too.

Loki looked around him. From the moment he had heard his name, hundreds of escape plans had formed in his mind, but most of them resulted in killing someone… So he tried to do the most obvious thing he could do: talk himself out of the situation.

"My son is long gone…" he said while forcing a painful expression on Odin's face. Loki was hoping at least someone would stop staring at him, but Thor's bright blue eyes were still fixed on him.

Loki could see the God of Thunder was shaking with anger. Jane Foster was staring at him as well. Her eyes were filled with confusion, but above all fear. She seemed to be waiting for Thor to say something, but he wasn't capable of saying anything at the moment.

"Frigga, come here…", Jane suddenly said in a strong voice.

The little girl who was still standing next to Loki had no idea what was going on. Why was everyone starring at her grandpa?

"Frigga! Come. Here! Now!" Jane said again. "Get away from that man!"

Frigga looked up at her grandpa. A sudden angry expression covered her beautiful face. She grabbed hold of Loki's arm and shook her head.  
"No!" she said confidently. "I'm going to be a princess!"

Loki shivered when the girl touched him again. His first reaction was to push her away, but when he heard her speak, he was paralysed. The girl trusted him!

Thor seemed to have found his voice.  
"Frigga! Listen to your mother and step back!"

Frigga pulled herself closer to Loki.  
"No!" she simply said.

Thor fixed his eyes on Odin again.  
"What did you do Loki!" he hissed.

Loki started to understand he wouldn't get out this. For a moment he considered to just take the child and use her to make Thor open the Bifröst. Maybe he would even stay on Earth if he used Frigga as a bargain. But for some reason the young king could not do it. Maybe it was because she was named after his mother and made him think of her so much. Maybe it was because she was the only one who seemed to trust him. Or maybe it was just because Thor immediately concluded that Loki had done something to her, or was he referring to what he had done to the real Odin…

While Loki tried to keep an expression of confusion on his face, Frigga didn't seem to change her mind.

"Not Loki! It's Odin! The Allfather from the stories!" she cried out.

The parents on the rest of the playground stopped paying attention to their kids playing and started looking to the weird scene near the end of the playground.

"Why do you keep calling grandpa Loki! Who's Loki!" Frigga yelled at her dad.

Something broke inside the young king's mind. He'd had enough of this. The confused expression faded and was replaced by Loki's own creepy grin, something that looked really out of place on Odin's face.

"Yes, Daddy, who's Loki?" he asked in his own voice, but still disguised as the Allfather. Everyone on the scene looked struck back. The guards – who were still kneeling down kept throwing looks between Thor and Odin… Well, Loki… Odin… Loki…. Odin with Loki's voice.

Jane and Thor both shivered. Even though they had been certain Odin was in fact Loki, hearing his voice conformed their worst fears. Frigga on the other hand heard the sudden change in her grandpa's voice and looked up. The evil sneer on Odin's face made her step back. What was going on? Who was Loki? And who was this man? A second ago he had been her grandfather and now was everybody staring at him in fear.

"Frigga, come over here!" Jane whispered. This time the little girl obeyed without hesitation. She ran to her mother and hid behind her back. She looked at her father and shivered. She had never seen him so angry. This was no anger anymore, this was pure hatred!

Loki knew he was being a fool, but he just couldn't take it anymore. What use did it have to keep lying. There was no going back now.  
"Well, brother, why don't you tell her who Loki is?" he went on. "I'm sure she would like to know everything about me…About what you did…"

"How dare you!" Thor shouted. He stretched out his arm in order to summon Mjölnir. At the same time the three guards got to their feet at drew their swords, ready to protect their king. Loki immediately reacted. He held out his sceptre and touched Thor's out stretched arm.

"Oh no, you don't!" he said in a strong voice. Thor moved his arm away from the sceptre like it had burned him. A moment later a green flash lid up the scene. Loki stood in front of his brother, a serious expression covering his face. Slowly he lifted the sceptre and put in down next to him. His eyes fixed on the guards.  
"Weapons down!" he demanded.

The confused guards didn't react. They had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Now!" Loki cried out.

The guards obeyed and stepped back. Loki looked around. They were drawing to much attention to themselves and now he was visible again, in the middle of Central Park, in New York City, that was not really useful.

The young king closed his eyes a couple of seconds. A green glance formed a transparent wall between them and the rest of the playground. The people on the other end of the wall blinked confusedly, but shook their heads and turned away.

Loki brought his attention back to the people standing in front of him. Once again, he forced himself into being the king he had been the past five years. If he let his usual self handle a situation like this, someone would definitely get hurt…

Tension filled the air. Thor and Loki looked each other in the eyes, both determined to keep up the eye contact.

"Sire?"

One of the guard had found his courage and he had the feeling he wasn't supposed to whiteness this. Therefor he decided that he better asked for orders before Loki would blame them for being there.  
The young king nodded. He knew he had his chance to go back with the guards, back to Asgard. Heimdall would probably open the Bifröst for them. At least, Loki hoped he would… but on the other hand… What good would it do? Thor would only follow him. And even though he had been king for the past five years, Loki was certain the Asgardians would follow Thor blindly and believe whatever he said.

No, it was better to stay here. It was time to tell Thor the truth. Loki now realised he had been procrastinating this moment. If it weren't for Heimdall, Loki would probably never had told Thor, even though he had promised himself to do it.

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had the feeling he was doing something tremendously stupid, but what choice did he have…

"You three will go back to Asgard. Tell the Captain I am on Midgard. Tell him he will be king a little while longer until I return. Yet, if anything happens while I'm gone, I demand to be informed and brought back to Asgard immediately. The Captain will not do anything without my approval. Is that understood?"

The guards nodded and saluted.  
"Yes, sire. We'll do as you commanded. We'll look forward to your return."

"Very well! Oh, and one more thing: no more patrols to Midgard. It won't be necessary."

"Yes my king!" the leader answered. The three men bowed one more time. They turned around and disappeared between the trees.

Nobody said a word. Everybody was waiting for the other to say something. It was Jane who opened her mouth first.

"You…", she stuttered, not able to hide the fear in her voice. "You are dead… You died! I was there…You definitely died."

Loki looked at her and smiled. "Accept I did not die… I'm surprised you two even believed I actually died on Svartalfheim. I did made it look like Thor's hand was cut of only a few minutes before…"

"Shut up!" Thor interrupted.

Loki slowly fixed his eyes on his brother. Thor seemed to be searching for words so Loki took his chance.

"You don't speak like that to your King!"

"You are not my King! You will never be a king!" Thor immediately shouted.

Loki raised his eyebrows.  
"Weren't you listening, brother?" he asked with fake innocence. Thor didn't answer.  
"Surprise!" Loki shouted.

That was enough for Thor. The God of Thunder stretched out his arm once more. Loki immediately stopped him by using his sceptre. He locked his eyes on Thor's. Neither of them moved a muscle.

"Jane, take Frigga and go home. I won't be long."

Jane Foster looked between the two brothers for a moment. She was scared to death and knew that this was no time to argue with her husband. She picked up her paralysed daughter and made her way through the playground as fast as possible.

When Jane had disappeared from their view, Loki spoke again. A serious look spread across his face. No more playing around.  
"Before you start beating me to moon, stop being a foul and think for a moment."  
Loki waited until Thor was calmed down a bit before lowering his sceptre. Thor didn't say a word.  
"I've been King of Asgard ever since you left to live on Midgard. Ask yourself. In those five years, have you ever heard anything bad… Has Asgard suffered during my reign? No! And neither have the other realms. I am a good king! The Asgardians respect me!"

"Oh yes, because you're such an honest king… Crowned because of a lie…"

"It was my birth right! You said it yourself! I understood the meaning of ruling better then you did!" Loki cried out.

Thor laughed, but there was nothing happy about the laugh.  
"Then I was mistaken…" he answered softly. Loki's eyes turned dark, but Thor wasn't finished yet.  
"So it was you… I thought I was talking to father… but it was you…"

"Odin was blinded by hate and grief. He was ready to sacrifice every Asgardian. Every last bit of Asgardian blood. Where would that have brought us. Nowhere! Think of the suffering he would have brought to the nine realms. To men, women and children. Is that what you wanted? Someone needed to stop that foul, but it seemed only Jotunheimers were capable of doing that…"

Thor smirked.  
"You still don't get it do you?" he said. "You may've been born on Jotunheim, but you were raised on Asgard. You lived your life on Asgard. Not on Jotunheim. You're as much an Asgardian as I am, whether you like it or not."

Loki's knuckles whitened around the sceptre while he tried to withhold himself from killing Thor.  
"Believe whatever you desire, brother. It doesn't change anything. I am still the only one who has the right to be king! You know that!"

Thor took one step closer to his brother.  
"Oh yes, by killing your father!" he shouted.

"He was never my father!" Loki cried out. Both men were breathing heavily into each other's faces. Teeth clenched, eyes piercing…

"Why are you here, Loki!" Thor hissed after a couple of minutes. "And don't give me that crap about meeting Frigga!"

Loki stepped back. He observed his brother a couple of seconds before letting out a loud sigh.  
"I need you to come back with me to Asgard!"

Thor looked bewildered.  
"And why would I do that?" he asked suspiciously. Loki opened his mouth to answer, but then realised he hadn't thought about a proper excuse. Thor, who knew Loki long enough to know when his brother owned up, saw his chance. A small grin spread across his handsome face.  
"No pretext, brother…"

Loki closed his mouth. Whatever he came up with, Thor would know it was a lie and the God of Thunder began to understand the situation.

"You are stuck here! Aren't you?" Thor continued. "You are stuck and you need me to get back! I wonder why…"

Loki scowled.  
"No idea where you got that idea, but it's ridiculous!"

"Oh really… Go on then, Oh Great King! Open the Bifröst here and now. If you do it, I promise, I won't follow you to Asgard."

Loki clenched his teeth. He knew Thor was bluffing – typical – but he also knew Heimdall wouldn't open the Bifröst. Not until he had told Thor the whole truth.

Thor smiled.  
"I won't open the Bifröst for you in a thousand years!"

"Asgard had no king!" Loki shouted back. "They need a real king!"

"Indeed they do!" Thor cried out. "Even the Captain is a better king then you! You've lied, killed… Innocent people have suffered because of you! Because you wanted a throne! I will not open the Bifröst until you have proven to be a king! Until I decide if Asgard and the other realms deserves you or not!"

"The people of Asgard already follow and respect me…." Loki started but Thor interrupted almost immediately.

"But I do not!"

Loki went silent. Thor was breathing heavily. Slowly he made his way towards Loki.

"I thought you dead. I mourned you... twice! For five years I've been blaming myself for your death, for mother's… How do you expect to me to trust you…"

Loki laughed.  
"All right…we'll do it your way. You just have to understand one thing, dear brother: they won't take this easily back home… if they come for me, you and your precious family will be in big trouble!"

Thor smirked.  
"Oh I don't think so… I'm almost certain that they don't know the truth either… do they, dear brother…"

Loki's smile disappeared and Thor took a step back.

"What now?" Loki asked after a short silence.

Thor looked at him in confusion.  
"What 'What now'?"

Loki sighed.  
"You want me to stay here! Where am I supposed to go? In case you didn't notice; people probably don't really like me here."

Thor raised his eyebrows.  
"You're not staying with me, if that's what you're suggesting."

"Oh, so I'm left to live on the streets, like a dog!" Loki said with his most innocent expression covering his face.

Thor smirked once more.  
"I'm sure His Highness can find some 'suitable' accommodation."

"Of course…" Loki answered nonchalantly. "I'll just walk through the streets of New York, being His Royal Highness. Before you know it, you've got S.H.I.E.L.D arresting me. Next thing we know is S.H.I.E.L.D investigating that sweet, little daughter of yours. I'm sure they're really interested in her…"

Thor's smile disappeared. He seemed to be overthinking the possibilities. After a couple of seconds, he turned towards Loki.  
"All right, you win, Loki. You'll stay with me, but make sure you understand one thing: if you hurt my family, or anyone else, I will kill you. King or no king! Believe it or not, Loki, but you are replaceable!"

"I must say, if I would get money for every time someone threatened to kill me, I would have been able to buy Asgard and the nine realms…"

"You better take this seriously, Loki! One wrong move, one threat…"

"Yes, yes, I get it: you'll kill me!" Loki interrupted.

"One more thing! You'll be in disguise at all times!"

Loki sighed. "Why? Afraid your girlfriend would fall for me?"

Thor clenched his teeth. Loki was starting to get on his nerves. One more stupid, rude remark and…

"Oh right! How's Jane's cooking by the way? Maybe I should live on the streets after all…"  
Thor closed his eyes. He felt the anger racing through his body.  
_Enough! _he thought.

* * *

Sorry, I immediately start working on the next one ... :)

Please review! And of course: Enjoy! ;) x


	7. Chapter 6

I am sooooo sorry it took so long guys... I forgot to upload before I went on holiday xp I hope you don't all hate me now ;)

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 6**_

"Mommy, who's Loki?"

Jane, who was pacing around the room, throwing anxious glares out of the window, looked at her daughter. The little girl sat down on the sofa, holding a mug of hot chocolate (which wasn't really hot anymore now). She had been in shock when she and her mother had reached their apartment, but is seemed her worst fear had disappeared, making place for a hundred questions now racing through her mind.

Jane groaned. Where was Thor? What was happening? For all she knew Loki had killed her husband! Would he do that?

Frigga was still shivering so Jane set down next to her daughter and tried to comfort her, but because she was shivering herself, that didn't really help.  
"It doesn't matter, sweetheart. He's of no importance…", Jane said while trying to stop her voice from trembling.

"No!" Frigga shouted, pushing away her mother's arm.  
"He is! Isn't he! He called daddy 'brother' and he said he was king! I thought my grandpa was The Allfather, the King of Asgard! Why…"

"Enough about that man, Frigga!" Jane suddenly shouted.

Frigga, who was already quite upset, couldn't take it anymore. She started crying and dropped the mug on the floor. The mug broke and the chocolate spread over the carpet.  
"You… you're scarring m…me, mu…mummy!" Frigga stuttered between two sobs.

Jane understood she had gone too far, but she was so upset herself. So scared. Jane threw her arms around her daughter.  
"I'm so sorry, honey. I didn't mean to…"

"B…But why w…won't you t...tell me then?" Frigga sobbed.

"Because I don't know it either. I don't know what I can tell you and what not because I'm not sure what's the truth and what not… "

Frigga pushed herself away from her mother so she could see her face again.  
"And what about daddy, does he know?"

Jane took her daughter's face in her hands. "When daddy gets home, I will talk to him."

"And then you'll tell me?"

Jane bit her lip. What was she supposed to say now? She and Thor had promised themselves to ban Loki from their lives. They wouldn't tell Frigga anything about Loki and his attack on New York. Therefore they had left them out of the stories and never mentioned his existence at all. But those promises were made when Loki was still dead. Things were different now. There was no denying it: whatever happened next, Jane knew she had to tell her daughter something. So she nodded and whispered: "Yes, we will…"

Jane hugged her daughter one more time before getting up from the couch. Her eyes fixed on the mess on the floor. She sighed and tried to smile.  
"I think I'm going to clean this mess up first. You relax. Daddy will be home soon."

Frigga smiled and watched her mother disappearing into the kitchen. She looked around the room. Frigga was surprised everything seemed so… normal. She had always known her family was a weird one, but after what she had witnessed today, she expected to see the world differently. Turned out, nothing had changed at all.

Frigga sighed disappointed. Her eye fell on a small book on the table next to the cough. It was a cartoon from _The Heroes of New York. _ This one specifically was about the Hulk who turned out to be Frigga's favourite. Not because he had the coolest powers of the lot – to be honest her favourite was of course her dad in that area – but because she really liked Bruce Banner. He was one of the nicest man she had ever met and even with his 'problem' he was always there for her to make her smile again.  
Frigga didn't like what these so called _Marvel_-people did with his character, but she still loved to read the adventures of the Hulk. Not that she actually read the book, she couldn't read that well yet. She just looked at the pictures and made up her own stories.

The front door slammed shut. Frigga looked up from the comic book. She recognised her father's footsteps in the hall, followed by another pair of feet. Jane was suddenly standing in front of her daughter. Frigga looked past her mother's legs and watched when her father and another strange man entered the room. A green glance covered the man's body. He disappeared and the man called Loki appeared instead. Jane shivered, but Frigga wasn't paying attention to that. The first thing she had noticed was that Loki's face was covered in blood. He kept touching his nose while trying to make the hot, red fluid stop flowing out of it. The whole time he kept throwing angry glares at his brother.

Jane's attention on the other hand, was immediately caught by her husbands in blood covered right hand.  
"Oh, honey, your hand!" she cried out.

"Oh, honey, your hand!" Loki repeated sarcastically while letting go of his nose to see if the blood was still flowing. Turned out it was…  
"That is my blood you see, woman!" the young king continued.

"Shut it, Loki!" Thor shouted looking at his hand.

"My name is Jane!" Jane said with a stern look on her face.

"Good for you…" Loki muttered.

Jane's eyes fixed on the blood dripping out Loki's nose. Dripping on her freshly washed carpet! She sighed and looked at her husband.  
"Thor, dear, was that really necessary?" she asked while gesturing to Loki. The God of Mischief turned to his brother and put his most innocent expression on his face. Something that looked even better because he was squinting his nose.  
"Yes, dear, was it really necessary…" Loki repeated again with high pitched voice. Even more sarcastically then before.

Thor smiled. "Yes, honey, it was necessary and I said "Shut it!", Loki!"  
Loki rolled with his eyes and started inspecting the rest of the room.

"But why? That is an expensive carpet!" Jane shouted.

"He insulted you and your cooking skills, Jane…" Thor answered softly while Jane slowly made her way towards her husband.

SMASH!

"Ow!" Loki cried out in surprise. "Why did you hit me now!"

Jane didn't answer. She didn't need to. Her eyes said enough.

"Seriously! What kind of a mother are you! Hitting an already injured man while your daughter is present!"

SMASH!

Loki almost tripped.  
"All right! All right… No need to get physical!" he groaned.

A silent giggle echoed through the room. The God of Mischief looked past Jane. His eyes fell on Frigga who quickly tried to hide her smiling face.

Loki sniffed.  
"You think it's funny, girl!" he asked, surprised about how 'friendly' he sounded.

Apparently, the two parents didn't share his opinion. Jane's face turned red while she was obviously getting ready to hit Loki in the face one more time, but Thor was faster.  
The young king didn't even have the time to defend himself. Before he knew it, Thor had raised his fist and slammed it hard on Loki's face, allowing a new portion of blood to flood the carpet. Frigga screamed while Loki was thrown against the wall.

"Thor!" Jane screamed, but her husband wasn't listening. He stepped forward and pulled Loki up from the ground.

"You don't speak to her like that! Not to my wife and not to my daughter! Understand!" he shouted furiously.

The God Of Mischief didn't seem impressed at all. He tried to focus while bringing his hands to his nose again.  
"For God's sake! Not you too!" he said. "Such a great parent you are!"

Thor raised his hand to hit again, but Jane stopped him.

"Oh no you don't!" she said sternly.  
"No more blood on my carpet! Don't you see he playing with you!"

Thor let go of his brother, breathing heavily.  
"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that he deserves a proper beating!"

Jane nodded.  
"I'm not saying that… But, really no more blood on my carpet. It was a gift from Darcy, all the way from London."

"Damn it, man! I think you broke it!" Loki suddenly squealed, holding his nose with both hands. Thor and Jane couldn't keep a slight grin of their faces.

"Oh, please, you'll be fine within five minutes!" Thor said angrily.

Jane sighed. "You two be nice until I get back!" she said before turning to her daughter. "Frigga, come with me please…"

The little girl jumped from the sofa. She wasn't sure how to feel. At first she had been scared of the man called Loki and even a little bit of her parents. But afterwards she started to enjoy the scene before her.

Frigga followed her mother to the kitchen. Jane opened a cupboard and pulled out two towels. She turned to he daughter and kneeled before her.

"Honey, you would do me a great favour if you would go to your room and stay there for some time…"

Frigga's smile disappeared.  
"But you promised!" she said quietly.

Jane closed her eyes.  
"I know, honey, but things are a bit complicated right now. I promise: we will tell you everything you want to know…"

Frigga thought about that for a moment and nodded. Her mother smiled and softly kissed her forehead.

"Thank you, dear…" she said before getting up and walking out the kitchen towards the living room. Frigga followed in her wake.

When Jane entered the living room and she had seen her daughter disappear to her room, she casted another look on the scene. It was even worse then she initially thought. There was not only blood on the carpet, but also on the floor, on the walls and Thor's clothes. She sighed and walked over to her husband. She softly touched his in blood covered hand and started to wipe of the blood.

"Sure, don't you worry about me, I'll be just fine over here…" Loki groaned just before a towel hit him in the face.

"You don't have to be so nice to him, Jane…" Thor said, enjoying the sight of his brother wrestling with the towel.

"I'm not being nice to him, he just keeps dripping on my carpet!" Jane answered while rubbing away the last bit of blood on Thor's hands. She looked up and locked her eyes on his. He nodded.

"If you want your privacy, you can always just say it out loud…" Loki suddenly said. He had managed to clean up most of the blood with the towel. And was now looking at the couple before him with a bored look in his eyes.

Thor didn't answer. He just turned around and left the room.

Jane came to Loki and looked him strait in the eyes.  
"If you ever threaten my daughter again, I swear you'll wish you were never born!"

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Wauw, that's a new one…" he grinned.  
"Just for your information. I wasn't threatening her. Not in the slightest. But trust me, you'll notice when I do…"

Jane suppressed the desire to slap Loki across the face again.  
"You should be glad Thor is willing to give you a chance…After what I saw, I wouldn't have done the same thing…"

Loki looked surprised. What the hell was she talking about! All right, what he did wasn't really nice (if that was the right way to put it), but it was not like she ever had any reason to care about him.

"Oh, common!" Jane continued. "You really think I didn't recognize you when you came in? You were that pervert from the park!"

Loki closed his eyes and smiled. He hadn't realised he had changed his appearance into the same guy as before.  
"Yes…" he laughed, "that was fun!"

Jane opened her mouth in awe.  
"Fun!" she hissed. "You should be happy I didn't tell Thor! You better not make me change my mind…" she said before turning around to follow her husband, but just before she left the room, she turned around again with a stern look on her face.  
"You don't leave this house unless we tell you to! And try not to burn it down… or you'll find out what happens when I start threatening you…"

Loki smiled his usual smile. "Can't wait…" he said.

Jane casted a creepy and meaningful look on the young king.

Loki sighed.  
"Yes, _Mummy_!" he said sarcastically. Jane took a deep breath and left the room, leaving Loki on his own.

The young king's smile disappeared the moment Jane left the room. Who did she think she was, telling him, the King of Asgard, what to do! She did have a point, though. Thor could have killed him…

Loki looked around. What now? What was he supposed to do in this lousy apartment. How was he going to convince Thor? And how was he going to survive Jane…

Loki sighed. He could at least make himself at home. With another sigh, he sank onto the couch, letting his eye fall on the comic Frigga had left behind. The God of Mischief quickly looked around him, before picking it up.

_The Heroes of New York _he read. Loki pulled up one eyebrow.

_Heroes? _he thought. _Why? For destroying New York… _

Loki sniffed in disgust. He knew that most of the destruction had been because of him and the Chitauri, but he was certain it wouldn't have been necessary if those so called _Avengers_ hadn't intervened.

Loki turned the comic book and read the summery on the back.

_Avengers Assemble! Follow The Marvellous Heroes Of New York on their adventures! Even though they defeated the evil alien Chitauri army, the dangers are still lurking behind every corner! Are Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor: The God of Thunder, Captain America, The Black Widow and Hawkeye ready for it…  
Collect them all! Avengers comics and individual comics are waiting for you!_

Loki shook his head. _Pathetic! _he thought. _ Even these Marvel–people banned me from their stories…_

A sudden prickling sensation covered the young king's body. He had the feeling someone was watching him… Loki dropped the comic and sad face to face with Frigga. The little girl stood by the door, nervously trying to stop her heart from beating so fast.

"What!" Loki called out harshly.

Frigga opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out.  
Loki sighed and rolled with his eyes.  
"Don't worry, I can't hurt you, I wouldn't even dare. Your mother would kill me and that would be really awkward…"

Frigga tried to smile, but she was not exactly comfortable with the situation yet.

Loki who was pretending to read the summary again, looked up and raised his eyebrows.  
"Aren't you supposed to be in some sort of extremely secure safe until your parents have decided about my already fucked up fate?" he asked.

Frigga allowed a silent giggle to escape from her lips. She immediately forced the smile of her face.

Loki sneered.  
"Why is it that you like everything that – possibly - results in my doom..."

Frigga didn't answer so Loki went on.  
"But it's not like anyone would care, of course… I'll just sit here and think about a way to convince your dear _papa _that I am a respected king, while everyone else decides how I'm supposed to live my life!" he added sarcastically. The young king casted meaningful look on the little girl before focusing his attention on the comic again, pretending to read it.

"I believe you!" a voice suddenly sounded through the silent room. Loki slowly lowered the comic so he could see Frigga. It took some time for him to understand what the girl had said.

"What did you just say?" he asked not able to keep down the harsh tone in his voice.

Frigga noticed it and shivered, but she had found her courage and took a deep breath.  
"I believe you are a great king!" she repeated.

It remained silent the next couple of seconds. Frigga swallowed. _Would he know his mouth is hanging open like he's a total idiot? _she thought awkwardly.

Loki blinked in surprise and closed his mouth. He cleared his throat.  
"What would you know about it?"

The young king knew he was being rude, and even though he really tried not to, he couldn't help it. Loki could see the little girl was in fact quite scared of him, but she managed to keep herself strong. The young king admired that.

"I was just thinking that those guards… they weren't scared of you and… they listened and… I suppose they… that they respect you… And honestly, I think you… you're a good leader…"

Silence. Loki repeated the girl's words in his head. Again and again…  
He swallowed. This felt… weird… but above all very wrong! A suspicious scowl covered the young king's face.  
"Who told you to say that? Thor? Is this some stupid test!" he asked angrily.

Frigga looked taken back. She blinked confusedly, but when she realised the Asgardian didn't believe her, she frowned and crossed her arms before her chest. How could he! Especially after the trust she had shown towards him!  
"No one told me anything, I just…thought…." The little girl started. Her cheeks turned red when Loki raised one eyebrow and looked at her suspiciously.  
"I just…" she repeated. "I thought you were kind of cool…" Frigga finished awkwardly.

"Coooooool?" Loki repeated. "Why do you think I'm cold?" he asked.

Frigga didn't understand the question at first, but when Loki stupidity became clear, she couldn't keep a big smile of her face. The little girl tried hard not to laugh with the young king.  
"It means you're nice, funny, a pleasant person…" she explained. For a moment she forgot who she was talking to. Just for a couple of seconds Loki almost seemed like a friend.

The young king thought about Frigga's explanation. A frown appeared on his handsome face.  
"That's just stupid. There's nothing funny about being cold! I suppose you've never been on Jotunheim…" he said.

Frigga's eyes grew big. "You've been on Jotunheim!" she whispered in excitement.

"Oh yes, a bit too much, if you ask me…" Loki answered nonchalantly thinking of the times he spent on Jotunheim.

"Cool!" Frigga whispered.

"Oh, you have no idea…" the young king said.

* * *

So that was it... I know it's a weird ending, but I'm having trouble with finding the right way to write everything down. I wanted to give you guys at least something to start with...

Again, SORRY it took so long...

Please review ;)


	8. Chapter 7

Sorry, but I the following chapters aren't written yet, so there's gonna be some time in between uploads

it's a short one, but I hope you enjoy it anyway ;)

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

A door opened. Frigga's smile disappeared when she heard her parents walking down the hall. She quickly made her way to the kitchen before Thor and Jane entered the living room. Loki, who had no intention of giving her away put on his most bored expression possible.

Jane looker at he husband, not able to hide the slightly nervous look on her face. Thor nodded and waited a few more seconds before he started talking.

"We made a decision, Loki!" he began. "You'll stay here and you won't leave this house unless we tell you to!"

Loki sighed. "I thought we already went through this…" he groaned.

Thor ignored it and continued.  
"You won't use any kind of magic or whatever you want to call your tricks… You don't talk to Frigga and if you say anything wrong against anyone…"

"Yes, yes, I know the drill…" Loki interrupted. He lifted his head from the back of the couch. "Anything else?"

"You'll be in disguise at all times! Inside and outside the house!" Thor continued without paying attention to what Loki had said.

"Wow wow, hold on a sec!" Loki interrupted again. "What happened to: you don't use any magic…"

Thor took a deep breath. Loki was getting on his nerves again. Jane noticed the potential danger and quickly took over.

"If we say you'll be in disguise at all times then you'll listen. For your information: If it were up to me, you would be on the street already!" she said harshly.

The God of Mischief wasn't impressed at all. Loki got on his feet and walked over to Jane.  
"Even if I wanted to give you what you want, it wouldn't work…" he simply said. "For _your _information: using magic to create illusions is quite exhausting. And if you want to prevent me changing into my handsome self in the middle of New York, I propose to change your terms…"

Jane bid her lip and threw an accusatory look at her husband. He should have known that! But Thor just pulled up his shoulders. How was he supposed to know… he never studied magic…

The God of Thunder thought about Loki's words for a couple of seconds. His brother could be lying of course, but why would he do that…  
"All right then… you'll only be in disguise outside the house." Thor finally said. Loki couldn't keep a smug smile of his face. That was the second time today he had managed to let Thor give him what he wanted.

"In short: you keep your mouth shut, no magic, no threads, no insults!" Thor added.

Loki smiled and sat down again.  
"I'm not even here…" he said before closing his eyes and putting his head on the back of the couch.

Thor had the feeling he had to say something more, if only to make sure his arrogant brother didn't end this conversation, but he feared that it would only lead to more fighting. So the God Of Thunder just turned around and walked out of the room.

Jane sighed and made her way to the kitchen. Every piece of her body screamed that this was a big mistake. She had tried to explain her doubts to her husband, but he didn't listen. In fact it wasn't even the event in the park that troubled her. She was more worried that Loki's presence would tear her family apart. Thor wasn't acting like himself either. Jane could feel how he was trying to hide his grief for her and himself, but also for his brother.  
But next to that he was furious with Loki. Jane could see the hatred and betrayal in Thor's eyes growing stronger every second. How much longer until he would break down and only God knew what would happen then…

Jane didn't want to think about it too much. Not that she could… she was too busy worrying about her little girl. Frigga was a very inquisitive girl. They could force Loki not to talk to Frigga, but they couldn't stop their daughter from talking to him…

Jane sighed again while she walked towards the fridge to get herself something to drink. At that moment she realised that she wasn't alone in the kitchen. Frigga tried to escape through the back door, but was stopped by her mother's voice.

"Frigga!" Jane called out. "What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to stay in your room!"

The little girl turned around a little too quickly.  
"I… I was thirsty, Mommy…" she stuttered while her cheeks turned red.

Jane looked at her daughter. This was even worse then she thought…  
"Go to your room!" she said more angrily then she meant to. Frigga quickly disappeared to her room.

Jane closed her eyes and slowly sank on the ground, her back leaning against the fridge.  
A wave of panic formed in her heart. Why was she acting like this? This wasn't her?  
Jane swallowed and held her face in her hands for a couple of seconds. She took deep breath and forced the upcoming tears to go back where they came from. She wasn't going to cry, no matter how scared she was.

She really hadn't mean to scream at her daughter like that. And… she hit Loki...twice … She, Jane Foster, the cool headed scientist, had actually hit someone who was already - just like Loki had said – defenceless. All right, it wasn't the first time, but on Asgard… that was differently. That was for New York, but now…  
And Thor… he seemed furious. How many times had he hit his brother? Jane knew that Gods healed a lot faster than human beings, so that meant that Thor must have hit him more than once on their way to the apartment. How could she be okay with that! Even though it was hard to admit it, Loki was right… what kind of a parent was she…

Why was this happening… Why did Loki had to come down anyway! Honestly, Jane didn't bother if Loki was king or not. At least he let them live in peace…

Didn't Thor see the risks he brought on themselves… Thor wouldn't bring his family in danger like that, would he? Not after the family troubles he went through himself, right? Would Loki dare to hurt anyone? Did family mean nothing to him…

Loki sighed. It had been five minutes since both parents had left him on his own and he was already bored to death… Even his lousy life on Asgard seemed more attractive at the moment. Suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps caught his attention. Loki lifted his head to see Frigga leaving the kitchen. She quickly made her way through the living room - completely ignoring the young king – and ran to her bed room. Loki sniggered. He was starting to like this girl. She was the only one who didn't look at him like he was some damn murderer. Loki sighed. How long was that going to last? Once Frigga would know the truth, things would be different… really different…

Loki shook his head. What the hell was he thinking! What was wrong with him! He had obviously spend too much time on this lousy world. He couldn't give anything about this child… No way!

It was already nine o'clock when Jane realised it was her turn to make dinner. So she quickly baked a simple omelette and set the table. It was then that she realised she had to put an extra plate for Loki. Awkwardly she took another plate and put it, after some hesitation next to Thor's as far away from Frigga's as possible. Jane looked around the table nervously. Everything was in place. Now she had to walk into the living room to ask Loki – The God Of Mischief – if he wanted to have dinner. Jane ran over the idea inside her head. It sounded ridiculous!

Jane took a deep breath and walked into the living room. There she found Loki lying on the couch, eyes closed, feet resting on the pillows. Jane cleared her throat nervously.

"What?" Loki groaned without moving a muscle.

Jane shifted her feet timidly.  
"I just… came to say… that dinner is ready."

Loki opened his eyes in surprise. He hadn't really thought about eating yet. Now that she mentioned it, the young king had to admit he was quite hungry. He turned his head so he could see Jane.

"You're going to give me.. food…" he asked awkwardly.

"Well, we can't let you starve, can we?" Jane answered, happy that she had managed to take the young king by surprise.

"Oh really…" Loki continued while he closed his eyes again.

"Why would we wanne let you starve…" Jane asked before she could stop herself. Loki smiled.

"For starters: you could get rid of me and the potential danger I bring to your family… Secondly: you're afraid I'll hurt your child or kill your husband…" Loki explained.

Jane stared at the young king in astonishment. "How did you… Can you read my mind?" she asked abruptly.

Loki laughed. "That is pathetic!" he said while fixing his eyes on Jane again. "You don't have to be able to read minds to know that… I've seen that look on my mother's face about a thousand times…"

Loki's usual grin disappeared and made place for a serious and sad look. He couldn't believe he'd just said that. Yet, he didn't really regret saying it…

Jane who had been ready to defend her idea of _mindreading_, closed her mouth and swallowed. Even though Thor kept blaming himself for his mother's death, Jane felt responsible too. She had never actually shared her thoughts with anyone, even Thor didn't know. He would only tell her it wasn't her fault, but Jane couldn't keep the idea that she was responsible for Frigga's death out of her head. After all, the Aether had hidden itself inside her body and Frigga had been protecting her. Jane really regretted that she never got to know her mother-in-law a bit more.

Jane had heard Thor talk about Queen Frigga lots of times. About how good she was, how smart, how strong, how courages, … but she never expected Loki, that heartless monster, to actually care about his mother… He didn't care for anyone but himself, right? Only once Jane had heard Loki talk about his mother in a carrying way. That day on Svartalfheim. Thor and Loki had been fighting over who was responsible for Frigga's death, but Jane had never been entirely sure that it hadn't been a dream. She had been in a quite bad condition, after all…

"Oh…" was the only thing Jane could say. She swallowed once more and quickly tried to think of something else, dinner for example.  
"Well… I… I'll go and get the others then…" she stuttered before leaving the room.

_Dinner…_ Loki thought. _Well, this is going to be awkward…_

A few minutes later Thor walked in the living room. He walked over to his brother and pulled Loki's feet of the sofa.

"No feet on the couch!" he simply said to a surprised Loki.

The young king looked up at his brother.  
"Why?" he asked. For once he really had no idea what he had done wrong.

Thor rolled his eyes.  
"Because you're not on Asgard anymore! If Frigga can't put her shoes on the couch, neither can you!"

Loki pulled up his eyebrows and got on his feet. _What a pathetic rule! _he thought while following the family to the kitchen.

Loki said down next to Thor and stared at the plate before him. On Asgard he would have had at least three different meals to choose from. The table would be covered with fruit, wine, meat… The young king started hating himself for complaining about his life as the King of Asgard. If he had just been smart enough not to trust Heimdall…  
Loki looked up at the ceiling, knowing Heimdall could see him. At that moment he realised Frigga wasn't with them. The young king looked around the table.

"If you don't mind me asking, where is your sweet little daughter?" Loki asked nonchalantly.

Jane looked at her husband before answering.  
"She wasn't hungry.." she said while cutting herself a piece of the omelette. Normally she would have made her daughter eat something, but after everything that happened today, she couldn't really get herself to force Frigga into doing anything.

Loki smiled and sprang onto his feet.  
"Great! I'm hungry either!" he said, eagerly to leave the table. He felt really uncomfortable sitting next to his brother, but Thor grabbed Loki's shoulder and forced him to sit down again. Jane couldn't keep a slight smile of her face.

"Sit!" Thor commanded Loki.

Loki sighed. "  
What happened, brother?" he asked while Jane put a piece of the omelette on his plate.  
"I mean, since the first second you recognised me, you have been angry with me. Not that I don't understand… but what happened with the _I keep up the cool face and tell him he's going to die if he goes against me_-face."

Thor smiled while he took a slice of bread.  
"You really can't think of any reason why I would hate you…" he asked.

Loki grinned.  
"Enlighten me, brother…" the young king sneered while tearing a piece of bread apart.

Thor waited a few moments before answering.  
"You died, right in front of me… twice… what about that…"

"Yes… you already mentioned that in the park…" Loki said while pretending to think Thor's words over.

"You are king because of a lie…" Thor continued.

"Maybe, but a good king!" Loki immediately answered.

"What about: you're a selfish piece of shit!"

Loki pretended to be taken back.  
"Your language, brother. Good thing your daughter isn't here…"

Thor dropped his fork on his plate and turned to his brother.  
"How am I supposed to keep up my _I keep up the cool face and tell him he's going to die _-face, or whatever you wanne call it, when you keep on threatening my family!"

Loki wasn't impressed. He fixed his light grey eyes on his brother's bright blue ones and swallowed a piece of the omelette before answering.  
"I think _you _don't get it, dear brother… I'm king now. I can't even think of hurting, threatening or killing any of the citizens of the nine realms. Not without any good reason. I swore to protect every single one of them which includes your little family and… you."

Loki had trouble with saying the last word, but he knew it was true.

Thor looked at his brother in amazement. Honestly, he'd never expected to hear those words coming out of Loki's mouth, but for some reason Thor believed that his brother really meant what he was saying. The God of Thunder sat back in his chair and started eating again.  
"Keeping his promises isn't the only thing a king is supposed to do…" he continued.

Loki sighed. "I didn't say that!"

Thor just ignored his brother and kept on talking.  
"There're also other things like being friendly when he needs to, for example"

Loki sighed.  
"Seriously!" he asked.

"Seriously!" Thor answered.

"What? You think I can't be friendly!" the young king added.

Thor looked at his brother with a meaningful look on his face. Loki didn't really know what to think of this.

"I can be friendly!" he exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Thor asked without looking up from his plate. He really liked it when Loki got angry about a stupid challenge. It made him think of old times…

"Yes!" Loki went on. "Watch!"

The young king turned to Jane and put up the smile he had been practising on the last five years. Even Jane was amazed.

"Your cooking skills aren't so bad after all, Jane. " Loki said before turning to his brother again.  
"See!" he shouted. "That was friendly! I even said her name!"

Thor could barely stop himself from laughing. Loki was ready to shout something, but Jane stopped him.

"Can you two just shut your mouths for a moment! You're like two little kids! For God's sake! You both had thousands of years to grow up! "

Loki shut his mouth and looked at the woman before him. Thor cleared his throat.

"Seriously! If you don't shut up I'm going to put both of you in a separate room!" Jane continued. She didn't really mean what she was saying, but she enjoyed the looks on both men's faces. Priceless!

"Your right, honey, I'm sorry…" Thor said while he was trying to stop himself from laughing.

Loki understood Thor had been playing with him and sighed. His stepbrother kept surprising him every now and then.

* * *

I know, not a lot of exiting stuff happened... sorry about that

I just needed to write Loki's first (awkward) evening on Earth down ;)

Hope you enjoyed it! please review! :)


	9. Chapter 8

Sorry, guys, it's a short chapie, but I hope you'll like it ;)

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

It had been three days since Loki first set foot in Jane and Thor's apartment. Three of the most boring days in his life. Even the ones the young king had spent in his cell had been more fun because of his mother's daily visits.

The young king lay on his bed in the spare room of the apartment. It was still dark outside. Loki never managed to get more than four or five hours sleep per night. Every time he closed his eyes, the usual nightmares took their grip on his imagination. Nightmares about The Battle of New York, the empty and dark nights and days in his cell, but also child memories of his first battles.  
Loki sometimes wondered if Thor suffered from the same nightmares. His stepbrother, who always led the battles, never seemed scared. And when he was finally accompanied by his hammer, Mjölnir, Thor had been the nightmare of most of their enemies… But Loki had always been the soft one. He wasn't as big, as strong or as fast as his brother and that was the probably the main reason why his mother had taught him how to use magic.

The young king had recently found out that he had chosen the right time to come down to earth. A time called _vacation_. It basically meant that Frigga didn't have to go to school. Also Thor didn't have to go to work. He kept on talking about different shifts during this particular period. Loki had been wondering what Thor did for living…  
Only Jane sometimes left to go to her laboratory. She worked – off all places - at Stark Tower. After Stark had rebuild his tower, now with a huge A on top of it, he had changed two floors into an enormous, high tech laboratory, fully intended for research on Alien Power Sources and Energy or APSE as he liked to call it. In short, he was trying to build a new Tesseract or something that had the same unlimited power. Loki knew Thor had tried to convince Stark not to make one, but once Stark had said his mind on something, there was no stopping him.

Little Frigga would ask her parents every five minutes if they could go the park, but because it had been raining for the last three day everybody was forced to stay inside. Even Loki was starting to get irritated to walk through the lousy apartment, seeing the same walls, the same pictures, the same grey view outside, the same three faces,… He was quite sure Thor was responsible for the bad weather.  
Because Loki was always up really early, he could hear Thor leave and come back half an hour later before anyone woke up. He supposed his stepbrother went to wherever he had hidden Mjölnir. The hammer gave him the power to control the weather and by doing that he could make sure that Loki stayed inside the house so he could keep an eye on him. A pathetic plan according to the young king.

Loki checked the digital watch next to his bed. Six o'clock. Time to get up. Loki left the room as quiet as possible and made his way to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and got himself a can of the delicious drink he'd had in the park: Coca Cola. Frigga had already warned him that it wasn't very healthy, but he just ignored her and said: "You've had five years with this drink, I've had thousands without it…" Then he would open the can and leave the little girl by her own. She had made a game out of spying on the young king and every time he tried to get a coke, she would sprint to the kitchen and grab the last one from the fridge.

Loki took a sip of the coke and opened the glass door leading to a small balcony while he changed his appearance in "Tony's". Thor thought that even this high - the apartment was on the tenth floor - people would be able to spot Loki sitting outside. The young king didn't really care. This way he could at least practise his magic.

Loki said down, feet dangling over the edge and looked over New York. In the far distance, a bit to the left, he could see the massive construction of Stark Tower, standing close to the Empire State Building. In front of him, Loki looked over Central Park. From this angle it all looked quite close, but the young king knew it was entirely the opposite.  
After the incident at Central Park , Loki and Thor had to do whole way to the apartment by foot because Jane had taken the car to go home with Frigga. Not something the young wanted to do again any time soon. He got sick from the constant smell of what Thor called _hot dogs... _You could literally find a hotdog stand on every damn corner! Loki couldn't understand why anyone would want to eat a warm dog…

The young king noticed that for the first time in days it wasn't raining. Maybe Thor had accepted that he couldn't keep deceiving everyone. Or maybe he just overslept this time…  
A second later Loki got his answer. Thor stumbled into the kitchen, trying to tie his shoelaces while searching for his keys he always left on the kitchen table. Only then he realised that Loki was staring at him with a smug smile covering his face. Thor sighed. He grabbed his keys and walked over to the balcony.

"Why are you up so early?" he asked while putting on his coat.

Loki grinned.  
"I'm always up this early, you only didn't notice because you're too busy getting everyone soaked."

"No idea what you mean!" Thor answered.

Loki's grin grew even bigger when he looked up at his stepbrother.  
"Oh come on, Thor! You may deceive everybody else, but I know a magic storm when I see it. I may not understand how that television-thing works, but I do know what an idiot pointing at little suns is doing. That guy is going to lose his job because of you…"

Thor waited a few seconds before giving in. He sighed and set down next to his brother.  
"There's just no deceiving you, is there?" he said with a smile.

"Fantastic, after a thousand years he finally got it!" Loki answered sarcastically.

Thor didn't respond, so Loki continued.  
"I am the God of Mischief, I deceive people, not the other way around…"

"Well, making bad weather is my job…" Thor said.

"Oh, and that involves sneaking off in the middle of the night…"

Thor sighed. Loki smiled and drank from his coke.

"So," Loki started after short silence, "where is the mighty Mjölnir?"

Thor shook his head. "Forget it. Not in a thousand years I would bring you any close to Mjölnir."

Loki pulled up his eyebrows.  
"Why not, if I might ask?"

"If you're king now, you'll be able to actually carry Mjölnir yourself. Next to that you probably have the power to take away my powers…" Thor explained.

Loki thought about that a moment. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't entirely sure that he could do that. After all, technically he wasn't king. Not until the former king would have crowned him, but Loki immediately forgot about that possibility.

"Good point!" he said. "But why would I do that?"

Thor pulled up his eyebrows in surprise.  
"I think you've got enough reasons, no matter how ridiculous…"

The young king rolled his eyes and crushed the now empty can in his hands.  
"I mean, 'why now?' In case you forgot: I could have forced you to leave Mjölnir on Asgard, but even when you wanted to return it willingly, I let you keep it."

Thor frowned. The memory of his last moments on Asgard became visible before his eyes. Now he knew that Odin was in fact Loki, he didn't really know what to think of it.

Loki got to his feet and was ready to go inside again when Thor stopped him.  
"Why? Why didn't you take Mjölnir?" he asked.

Loki swallowed. He knew that one reason was the fact that he wouldn't have been able to use Mjölnir, but over the years the young king had found a second reason.

"Even though it's hard for me to admit it…", The God of Mischief started sarcastically, "a king is nothing without his warriors. Taking Mjölnir away from you is just asking for trouble…"

Thor looked up at his brother and tried to make out if he was just selling nonsense or not.

"And by the way, I don't think that Mjölnir would suit me…" the young king added with a smile.

A sudden sound made the two brother look up. Jane walked into the kitchen, dragging her feet and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  
"Why are you two awake! It's half past six! Am I the only one who understands the meaning of sleeping?" Jane said while making herself a strong cup of coffee. "And to think that I'm the one who's supposed to go to work!"

Jane looked sleepily at the two men in front of her. Her eyes rested on on Loki for a moment. He still looked like the guy she met in the park. Jane just couldn't get used to the weird feeling Loki's illusions gave her.

Thor got to his feet and joined his wife.

"II thought you didn't need to be in today?" he asked while taking a coffee cup for himself. Jane pulled up her shoulders.

"Tony called me out of bed. He thinks he may have found the problem with the Energy Converter. At least Jarvis has…"

"That's already the fifth time this week!" Thor mumbled while opening the fridge to get the milk.

"Not like I can help it..." Jane muttered while supressing a yawn. "Maybe I can finally get on with my work…"

Thor stood behind Jane and put his arms around her waist. "How can I convince you that it has no use trying to make a new Tesseract! It's dangerous!"

Jane turned around so see could look Thor in the eyes.  
"I know… but think of the possibilities… we just want it's power…" she said softly, but Thor's serious expression didn't fade away.

"By the way, if it makes you feel any better: I don't think Tony is going to succeed. According to my research, it's as good as impossible… " Jane finished sadly.

She softly touched Thor's face until he looked at least a little bit less worried. Not that she blamed him. Until a couple of years ago everyone would have said that a millionaire in flying super suit was impossible too…

"And Stark delivers the perfect tools to work with… I can actually get somewhere now…" Jane said.

Thor smiled and tried to kiss Jane, but they were rudely interrupted by Loki who pretended to throw up.  
"Do that stuff in your room!" the young king said. He had already change into his own appearance again. "It's bloody disgusting!"

Thor and Jane both took a step back. They really didn't feel like arguing with Loki at the moment.

Suddenly an idea sprang to Jane's mind. She quickly glanced at the God of Mischief. Should she? Would he want to help her? She could only give it a try.

Jane turned to Loki and searched for words.  
"Eeeh, Loki, I was wondering… maybe _you_ could help us build a new unlimited power source… like the Tesseract." she said.

Thor immediately opened his mouth to stop Loki from answering. He was quite sure Loki was able to help them, but he never got the chance to say anything.  
Loki's usual sneer disappeared almost immediately. A flash of horror shot through his light grey eyes.

Jane didn't notice so she just kept talking.  
"I just thought you'd probably know a thing or two about… you know… the Tesseract…"

Silence filled the air while Jane waited for an answer. Only then she noticed the strange look on Loki's face. For a moment it seemed like the God of Mischief was lost in thoughts, horrible thoughts, but a second later his eyes lit up again. The young king looked around the kitchen.

"No!" he said harshly before leaving the room.

Jane watched him confusedly. Also Thor didn't fully understand why his brother was acting like this.

"Did.. did I say something wrong?" Jane asked cautiously after a couple of minutes.

Thor had been thinking over the same words. He couldn't think of any reason why Jane was to blame… So he turned around a forced his most charming smile on his face.

"Of course not honey… You better get going, you don't want to let Stark waiting…"

Jane tried to smile.  
"Right, don't forget to wake Frigga up before eleven o'clock. Otherwise she won't sleep tonight…" She said. "And you could go to the park today, I believe it's going to be a lovely day!"

Jane drank her coffee in one gulp, kissed Thor softly on his cheek and ran off to get dressed, leaving her husband on his own.

The God of Thunder's smile disappeared the moment his wife left. He ran over Jane's words over and over again. She had spoken about nothing but the Tesseract. Thor promised himself he would look in to it. He knew Loki long enough to know when his brother was scared to death…

* * *

I know, still nothing really exiting yet... sorry... maybe next chapter, if not then certainly the one after that...

Hope you enjoyed it! Please review ;)


	10. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

Thor throw a cautious look on his brother. Loki/Tony was sitting next to him on a bench near the small playground in Central Park. The God of Mischief hadn't said one word since the incident in the kitchen that morning. And now he was just staring at the playing kids with a bored look in his eyes.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look! I've made a castle again!"

Frigga came running towards the bench, her clothes, hands and face fully covered in sand.

Thor turned to his daughter and smiled.  
"It's lovely, sweetheart" he said after seeing the piles of sand in the sandpit. Thor never really knew what to say to his daughter, but Frigga had grown used to that so she didn't expect her father to say anything else. The little girl timidly looked at Loki. She remembered how he'd been really excited about her castle. At least, Odin had been…

Loki looked up and found Frigga staring at him like she was expecting something from him. The young king's eyes fixed on the piles of sand in the sandpit. A smug smile appeared on his face before he turned to Frigga again.

"Be careful your _Daddy _doesn't destroy it with an alien ship… He's rather good at that…"

Frigga didn't fully understand, but she knew Loki had said something rude. Her smile dropped, she turned around and ran back to the sandpit while she desperately tried to hide her tears.

Thor clenched his teeth and turned to Loki. The young king didn't even pay attention to his daughter anymore!

"What is your problem!" he hissed.

Loki didn't move. "You!" he simply said.

"Is this because of what Jane was talking about… the Tesseract…." Thor asked after a short silence. He really had to try his best not to shout.

Loki bit his lip. So Thor had noticed. Turned out he wasn't as stupid as Loki thought he was… the young king considered his words before answering. With a deep sigh he turned to his brother, completely hiding the fear in his eyes.

"Excuse me if my behaviour bothers you, I'm only being held 'prisoner' on a lousy world while Asgard doesn't have a proper king. And I don't think I need to tell you the dangers that imbecile of a Stark in bringing on himself and the rest of Midgard by trying to make a new Tesseract…" Loki answered coldly.

"Don't play with me, Loki. I know there's something else you're not telling me…"

Loki rolled his eyes and looked away.  
"Oh yes, because you know me so well…" he said.

"You would be surprised…" Thor muttered just loud enough for his brother to hear it.

Loki didn't answer. Somewhere, tugged away deeply inside his mind, a voice warned him he had to stop Stark. During the last five years the young king had developed some kind of _king-conscience _which always came to the surface whenever the nine realms could be in danger…  
Again it instinctively advised him to control the use and development of that much energy. Loki knew better than anyone else what the Tesseract was capable of…

But on the other hand… If Stark succeeded he would possess an unlimited power source which could be used to solve the energy problem the earth suffered from. To accomplish that, the power source had to be in good hands and Loki knew that that was as good as impossible, especially for humans… They were just such pathetic creatures!

Loki didn't really know what to think of it so he decided to follow Jane's research which stated that succeeding was almost impossible…

Small raindrops woke the young king from his thoughts. Loki looked at the sky before he threw Thor a accusing look. Thor pulled up his shoulders innocently.  
"What? This is not me!" he said before getting up to call Frigga.

The little girl ran towards her father.  
"The rain is going to destroy my castle, Daddy!" she said sadly. Thor looked at the sandpit. The first big raindrops were starting to make holes in the sand piles.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I can't really help you with that… you can build a new castle tomorrow… We'll make one togeth…"

Thor went silent when an idea sprang to his mind. He turned to Loki and threw him a meaningful look. The young king didn't understand at first, but after Thor gestured to the sandpit, he couldn't keep a surprised look of his face.

"Since when am I allowed to use magic for something else then an illusion?" Loki asked.

"Since I asked you to use it just this once!" Thor answered harshly.

Loki pulled up his eyebrows.  
"It's only sand…" he said with a bored expression covering his face.

"Now, Loki! You've got to set something right after all!" Thor said gesturing at his daughter who was looking between the two men, not fully understanding what they were talking about.

Loki sighed and stretched out his arm. A green glance formed a small, transparent dome over the piles of sand, stopping the rain from destroying it.

Frigga watched in amazement. Afterwards she turned to Loki, eyes full of admiration.

"Happy?" Loki asked Thor, but it was Frigga who answered. The little girl nodded fiercely and suppressed the desire to hug the man in front of her.

"Yes! Thank you very much!" she said with a huge smile covering her cute face.

Thor nervously tapped with his fingers on the steering wheel. They had made to the car just in time. The sky had turned dark grey and the clouds tore open like the jaws of a hungry dragon. It was bucketing down and the streets slowly flooded. The traffic was terrible, but Thor mentally thanked Jane for taking a taxi to Stark Tower. He wouldn't have survived the walk home in this weather…

Frigga was sitting on the back seat. Because they weren't moving, she'd lost her seatbelt – ignoring her father's protest – and was now sitting on her knees starring at Loki's neck. The young king tried hard not to turn around and shout at her, but the constant stinging feeling in his neck was making that quite a challenge.

After another five minutes of not moving, Frigga finally opened her mouth.  
"How did you do that?" she asked in astonishment.

Loki sighed.  
"I farted and used my magical fart to make the rain disappear…" he answered without looking at the girl.

Frigga frowned.  
"Really?" she asked after a short silence.

Loki couldn't to smile.  
"Oh yes of course!" he immediately answered.

Thor smiled and shook his head.  
"No, Frigga! He's trying to be funny… and I thought we asked you not to speak to Frigga!" Thor said.

"I'm only answering a question.. "Loki answered childishly.

Thor didn't react. Instead he turned around and said "Frigga, sit down and don't forget your seatbelt!" for the eight time.

Ten minutes later the traffic started to move again and Thor was finally able to drive the last five minutes to their home.

Not able to stop trembling, Thor opened the front door. Even the few seconds they'd needed to run from the car to the apartment had been enough to get soaked to the bone. Frigga's smile seemed to be washed away while she ran inside to turn on the heat, leaving a trail of small puddles behind her. Loki slowly followed. The moment he entered he changed into his own appearance again which resulted in fully dried clothes. Thor sighed and closed the door. Sometimes he had to admit that Loki's magic could come in quite handy.

The two brothers walked into the living room and found Jane who just put a big towel over her daughter's shaking shoulders. She looked up and smiled sympathetically at her husband.

"You never guess what happened!" she said sarcastically while she walked over to Thor and handed him another towel. "I arrived at Stark's and you know what he said: "The Energy Converter is broken again! Sorry, Jarvis' fault." I'm quite sure Tony tried to fix the damn thing himself instead of letting Jarvis handle it… typical!"

"So you got home early.." Thor finished for Jane.

Jane nodded. She threw a quick look on Loki before realising that giving him a towel had no use. The young king just ignored her and sat down on the couch. Jane watched him and bit her lip. Was he still upset about whatever happened that morning or was she just imagining things? It wasn't like Loki was the most social being in the house… Jane looked at her husband, but Thor just pulled up is shoulders and left to get new clothes.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Frigga called out when her mother had put away the third towel. "Loki saved my castle with magic!"

Jane's eyes grew big. She turned to her husband who just returned from their bedroom and threw him a meaningful look like she was trying to say: "You let him use magic?"

Thor rolled with his eyes like he said: "it was nothing…"

Frigga didn't notice the silent conversation between her parents and just got more and more exited. She ran towards the sofa, staring up at the God of Mischief who did his best to keep ignoring the little girl.

"How did you doooooo iiiiit!" Frigga exclaimed while putting on her cutest expression possible.

Loki grinned.  
"I already told you! I used my magical fart!" he whispered.

Jane frowned and pulled her daughter away from the cough.  
"What? Soon she believes that farting is magical!" she said to Loki.

"Oh but it is!" the young king answered.

Jane pulled up her eyebrows. Was Loki actual capable of making jokes?  
"I'm quite sure that there's nothing _magical _about _farting_!"

"How would you know, wiseacre?" Loki asked in challenging tone. He was starting to enjoy this – completely idiotic – conversation. Also Frigga couldn't keep a smile of her face while her eyes darted between her mother and Loki.

Jane crossed her arms in front of her chest.  
"What did you just call me?" she asked with a smile.

Loki didn't respond. Instead he just said back and grinned from ear to ear.

"I'm a scientist." Jane continued. "If farting was magical, I would have noticed."

"Maybe Asgardian farts are magical!" Loki said while he jumped to his feet.

Jane looked at the young king in amazement. He actually succeeded to make her laugh about something absolutely foolish. Why was she even having this discussion. It didn't make any sense!

"Oh, and I probably should warn you: Thor's farts are extremely magical!" Loki continued with an - obviously fake - serious expression on his face.

Jane couldn't hold it anymore. She laughed and nodded.  
"That, on the other hand, I did notice…" she said with a smile. Frigga giggled and pointed at her father who was watching the scene in astonishment.

"Hey! I'm still here!" he said.

"I'm only stating facts, dear brother…" Loki said with a huge grin while he walked past Thor to go to his room. Jane and Thor watched the young king in shock.

Jane just couldn't believe the young hadn't bitten Frigga's head of. He had been… nice and … funny… Maybe she's misjudged him…

Thor on the other hand had grown used to his brother's weird behaviour. At least as far as it was possible to grown used to that… but the scene he'd just witnessed made him think of long forgotten times. Loki almost seemed like his old self. Like his brother who was always in for a joke, who always made everybody laugh about something silly when no one had any reason to be happy…

A long forgotten memory came to the surface. It was a time The God of Thunder hadn't thought about in a very long time, but he never wanted to forget…

(MEMORY)

"Oh, get over it, Thor! It not the end of the universe!" Sif called out while picking an apple from the enormous fruit bowl that was standing against the wall of the room.  
"You want an apple?" She asked without looking at the prince of Asgard.

"Easy for you to say! You got away! And yes, I want an apple." Thor answered harshly.

Sif rolled with her eyes and threw a big green apple towards Thor who never got it because it was caught in mid-air by another hand.

Loki walked in while he took a bite of the apple.  
"Oh no, my beloved brother is jealous of a girl… " the young prince said dramatically through a mouth full of apple.

"It's not funny, Loki!" Thor groaned.

"My apologies, oh great leader of failure!" Loki sneered.

Thor picked up a pillow at threw it Loki's way, but the pillow just flew right through his body. A second later the illusion dissolved in the air and Loki appeared to be standing near the fruit bowl.

"Oops, you missed me!" he said with a smile. Thor scowled and threw another pillow towards his brother, but again the pillow only hit thin air.

"You really should learn how to aim…" a bored voice sounded behind Thor's chair. The young prince looked up and saw his brother standing behind him, grinning from ear to ear waving around his apple. At the other end of the room Sif couldn't help but laughing.

"Seriously, Thor. Loki's been standing there from the beginning and you didn't notice!" she said with a smile.

Thor blushed heavily and watched his brother walk across the room.  
"Wait until I'll possess the power of the Mighty Mjölnir!" the blond haired prince said. "Then I will be the strongest! Even your magic tricks or your _female warrior complex_ won't be so impressive anymore!"

Loki just ignored his brother and continued.  
"No wonder you almost got us killed today…" he said with a challenging tone.

The blond prince said back in his chair and crossed his arms.  
"I mean it, Loki! In case you forgot: we're grounded for a month!" Thor exclaimed angrily.

"Correction:" Loki started while he made himself comfortable in a big chair on the other side of the large, crackling fire in the middle of the room. "_You _are grounded for a month!"

The blue eyed prince looked up in surprise. "What!" he called out.

Loki grinned and took another bite from the apple.

"Don't be so surprised." Sif started while she sat down in a chair close to Thor's. "In case _you _forgot: It was me who saved your ass today…"

"And it was me who got us out in time!" Loki added.

"It wasn't my fault!" Thor defended himself. Loki and Sif shared a look.

"Of course not, brother. You just accidentally happened to bump in to the leader of the pack…" Loki answered innocently.

Thor picked up another pillow and threw it, over the fire, towards his brother. But the young prince stretched out his arm, stopped the pillow in mid-air and catapulted it right in Thor's face. Sif couldn't prevent a small giggle to leave her lips.

Just at that moment, two other Asgardians entered the room. The smallest, Hogun, casted a suspicious look on Loki when he stopped the pillow.

The young prince noticed and sighed. He threw the core of the apple in one perfect bow in the empty bowl next to the fruit bowl on the other end of the room and fixed his eyes on the Vanaheimer.

"Oh, come on, Hogun. It's only a pillow… it won't bite…" he said with a smile.

Hogun didn't show any emotion, not that he ever did…  
"My apologies, my prince. It's just the magic that makes me feel uncomfortable." he said.

Loki's eyes turned dark for a moment. From all his friends, Hogun had always been the one to question him…  
"Your Queen practices magic, you better have care how you speak!" the young prince answered bitterly.

Hogun bowed his head. "My apologies my prince…" he said.

Thor who could sense his brother was getting angry, quickly changed the subject. He put aside the pillow which had just hit him in the face, turned to the second newcomer and asked: "Any news from the infirmary, Volstagg?"

Volstagg's expression turned sad. "It seems Fandral was poisoned by the wolf's bite. The nurses don't know when he's going to wake up…

Sadness spread across the room. Loki looked around. He really hated sad faces!

"Oh come on, guys!" he called out, hoping to break the tension. "We all know Fandral! He's too stubborn and self-obsessed to die like that. Besides, he's going to leave a million weeping girls behind, all fighting over him. And who's going to have to take care of that? I'm not looking forward to keeping a million girls from ripping each other to pieces…"

Sif forced herself not to smile. Instead she threw her untouched apple towards the young prince and said: "Girls aren't like that at all! You know nothing of women!"

Loki caught the apple swift-handed and threw Sif a flirty grin.  
"Oh really, enlighten me, Lady Sif!" he said sarcastically.

Sif opened her mouth in awe.  
"Girls are not that naïve! You don't just buy our love, you earn it!" she said superciliously.

The others in the room eagerly followed the conversation.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Thor asked with a smile.

Sif pulled up her eyebrows.  
"You have to impress us…" she said with fake conceit.

The two brother shared a look and nodded.

"Like this, you mean…" Loki said while he made a small movement with his hand. Five little, sparkling butterflies appeared in the fire and fluttered towards Sif. The girl warrior immediately jumped behind her chair in an effort to escape the dangerously hot wings.

"Lokiiiiii! Don't!" she shouted, but she couldn't hide her smile.

Everyone – except for Hogun of course – laughed at the side of Lady Sif running across the room trying to fight off the fire butterflies.

Thor looked at his brother. They both knew Loki was going to pay for this, but at the moment they had way to much fun think about that.

(END MEMORY)

Thor smiled. He hadn't thought of that moment for a long time. He looked up and saw Jane pushing an exited and laughing Frigga too her room to get some dry clothes. Loki had done it again. He'd seen a sad face and turned it into a smile again.

"Thor, honey, I'm sorry, but I didn't feel like cooking tonight so I ordered Chinese. I hope that's okay with you…" Jane shouted from Frigga's room.

"Of course, sweetheart!" he shouted back.

Another laugh sounded through the house. It was Jane's.  
"That poor feller is gonne be soaked because of me…" Jane said. "Poor guy…"

* * *

Hope you liked it (that memory came rather spontanious...;) )

Please review :)


	11. Chapter 10

So, as promissed, this one's a bit longer ;) Hope you like it...

* * *

_**Chapter 10**_

"_Are you ready kids?"  
"Aye Aye Captain!"  
"I can't hear you!"  
"Aye Aye Captain!"  
"Ooooooh… Who lives in a pineapple under the sea!"  
"Spongebob Squarepants!"  
"Absorbent and yellow and porous is he!"  
"Spongebob Squarepants!"  
_

Loki looked at the TV screen in shock. Frigga had been watching the same completely insane show all morning, but the young king still couldn't believe his eyes.

A slightly irritated Thor entered the living room. He groaned and rubbed his head.  
"Frigga, please. Don't you think you've watched enough television for one day…"

"Hush, Daddy! I haven't seen this episode yet…" Frigga answered, not letting her eyes leave the screen.

The God of Thunder sighed and closed his eyes. That stupid theme song had been his alarm clock that very morning. Thor mentally reminded himself that if he ever met the idiot who had decided to broadcast _Spongbob – marathons _on Saturday mornings, he would definitely kill him…

"It's a talking sponge…" a voice suddenly sounded through the room. Loki was still staring at the screen, definitely in shock.

Thor sighed again. "Yes, it's called Spongebob Squarpants…"

"Yes, yes, I noticed, but… it's a talking… _sponge_!" Loki repeated while turning to his brother. He pointed at screen. "And a squirrel, a talking squirrel! Under water!"

"I know.." Thor answered tiredly.

"He lives in a pineapple!" Loki continued not understanding why Thor didn't share his concern and disbelief.

"Yes…" Thor said.

"A damn pineapple, Thor!" Loki shouted. "And you think that I have a bad influence on your daughter…"

Thor had to admit. He and Loki had seen quite a lot of shocking and terrible things. They had fought in horrible battles, against terrifying monsters. More than once they'd looked death in the eyes only to suffer from horrifying memories and nightmares afterwards, but this…  
No, Thor didn't blame Loki…

At that moment Jane walked in. She was rubbing her ears, looking even more annoyed then her husband.  
"Am I the only one who keeps hearing "_Aye Aye Captain!"_? she asked imitating the Captain while making a weird pirate movement with her arms.

"Hush!" Frigga said while throwing angry looks on her parents.

Jane walked over to the television, took the remote control and switched of the screen. It seemed like Frigga woke up from a trance. She blinked with her eyes and look at her mother.

"Mummy!" she started, but one look of her mother made her shut up. Everybody in the room let out a sigh of relief.

"Enough is enough, Frigga!" Jane said sternly while putting the remote on the top of the TV so Frigga couldn't reach it.  
"Get your shoes, I think it's a good idea if we go to the park today. Then I can see the castle you build yesterday…"

Frigga almost fell from the sofa and walked to her room, dragging her feet. Just before she left the living room an idea sprang to her mind. She turned around and put on her most innocent look possible.

"Mummy," she asked. "Can't we go to the library…"

Thor looked up in surprise. That wasn't a very bad idea. Maybe he could find something about the Tesseract there. The God of Thunder seriously doubted that, but he could only try. Maybe he could find something that would explain Loki's weird reaction.

Jane was as surprised as her husband.  
"But you haven't finished your books from the last time…" she started, but Frigga quickly interrupted.

"I have Mummy!" she said. "All of them…"

Jane though for a moment. She looked at her husband. Thor quickly put an serious expression on his face. He didn't want Jane to think that something was wrong. He cleared his throat and pretended to think the idea over.  
"I don't see why not…" he said.

"Library sounds good to me!" Loki suddenly said. Both parents looked at him like they'd forgotten, he was there.

"What?" the young king asked. He liked libraries. When he was younger he used to spend lots of time in the library of the palace to read every book about magic he could get his hands on. Now he came to think of it, Thor probably didn't know that since Loki couldn't remember seeing his brother in the library. Thor possibly didn't even know the palace had a library. He spend all his time fighting and getting his ass kicked by Sif...

"You're not coming with us.." Thor said.

Loki pulled up his eyebrows.  
"Why not?" he asked.

"Well.." Jane started, not really knowing what to say, but Loki already understood. He closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.

"Seriously, I'm not going to destroy a library. Why would I do that?"

Neither Jane nor Thor knew an answer to that, so Loki continued.  
"And I don't think you would leave me behind…alone…" he said.

Thor bid his lip. He hadn't thought about that. He looked at Jane. His wife seemed to be considering the idea. After a few seconds she pulled up her shoulders. What could go wrong? Loki could of course destroy the library, but that wouldn't exactly help him with proving Thor he was a good king.

"All right then.." Thor finally said. "But you…"

"Yes yes! I know the drill!" Loki interrupted. He rolled his eyes and changed his appearance into Tony's.

"Frigga, go and get your books too. We'll leave in ten minutes." Jane said while walking to the hallway to get her coat. Thor threw Loki one more warning look before following her.

Half an hour later Loki found himself at the entrance of New York Public Library. It was huge… There were just no other words to describe it and the young king thought it was amazing!

"Was that really magic?" Frigga asked for the third time. Loki had been ignoring her the last five minutes, but it was starting to annoy him.

"Was what really magic?" he asked harshly.

Frigga ignored the sharp tone.  
"That what you did for my sand castle" she explained while trying to catch up with Loki's big steps.

"Yes…" Loki said dryly.

"And those illusions? Is that magic too?"

"Yes…" Loki answered again.

Frigga thought about that for a moment.  
"Cooooooool!" she said in wonderment.

Loki rolled his eyes. He still didn't understand why people thought that being cold was any fun…

"Can you teach me?" Frigga suddenly asked.

Loki looked down in surprise. The little girl looked up at him with eyes full expectation.  
"I don't think your parents would like that…" he said after a couple of seconds.

Frigga's smile slightly disappeared.  
"Why not?" she asked.

Loki didn't really know why, but was quite certain Thor would kill him if he did…  
"They probably think it would make you… evil…"

Frigga was shocked. She blinked confusedly and asked: "Evil? Are you evil then?"

Again Loki was surprised about the girl's question. He'd almost forgotten that Frigga didn't know anything about… well… anything…

The young king smiled.  
"I suppose that depends on your point of view…" he said just before Thor called Frigga to follow them. The little girl frowned. She didn't understand what Loki meant, but she turned around and followed her parents.

_German legends and Fairy Tales _Loki read.

He had chosen a section of the library at random and started taking books from the shelves. It seemed he'd chosen the section about Mythology and Legends.

Loki took the book he'd just found and put it on the pile of books next to a chair close to the wall. Afterwards he sat down and picked one of the books and began reading.

The one thing he liked about humans was that they put all their knowledge in these books. On Asgard that happened too of course, but Asgardians seemed to have the weird desire to tell certain things without writing them down. That was probably because Asgardians lived a lot longer and once they heard something they didn't easily forget, but Loki was quite sure that a lot of precious information and legends were lost because of that idiotic habit.

Suddenly the young king saw something in the corner of his eye. Frigga had appeared two rows right of him. She looked around her like she was checking if anyone could see her. Then she took a quick look at the books on the lowest shelve. A deep frown appeared on her pretty face, probably because she couldn't read any of the titles. After a couple of minutes she decided to pick a book at random. Inquisitive as she was, she picked the biggest of them all. With all her might Frigga pulled the heavy, probably five thousand pages book off the shelve. With a loud thud it hit the ground. Frigga looked at the cover for a couple of seconds before opening the enormous book.

Loki frowned. This wasn't the kids section… what was she doing here? The young king quickly casted a look on the sign above the bookcase.

_Norse Mythology and Legends _it said.

The young king frowned. What was she searching for?

Suddenly an old, but friendly lady appeared behind Frigga, but teh girl was looking at the few pictures in the book, trying to understand what was written next to them and therefore didn't notice her.

The lady spotted the little girl. She recognized her. Frigga Foster. The little girl just loved books, even though she couldn't read yet, but to see her in this section of the library was new.

"Frigga? What are you doing here?" the woman asked friendly. The little girl looked up in shock and closed the book.

The women looked over the girl's shoulder and read the title on the cover of the massive book.

_Secrets of Yggdrasil: Everything about the nine worlds and their inhabitants_

The old women put on her glasses which were dangling at a rope around her neck so she could read it again.

"Why are you reading this, sweetheart? What is it that you want to know?" the woman asked looking a bit concerned.

Frigga who knew that she'd been caught tried to come up with an excuse.  
"I…I… I heard that The Mighty Thor is a N… Norse God… and I was wondering… I wanted to know…a ..bit more about ….eeeeh…my D… I mean him… Thor." The young girl stuttered.

Two rows away Loki couldn't help but smile. He was impressed how quickly the little girl came up with a believable lie… only the presentation could be better…

The old lady smiled. Frigga wasn't the first who came to her to ask about The Avengers.  
"Maybe you should visit The Avengers section in the kids section. We got a lot of books about Thor there with lots of pictures and…"

"I know, but I wanted to know where he came from and all that stuff…" Frigga interrupted impatiently. The old lady was surprised, but she didn't mention it. she thought about Frigga's words for a moment before giving in. After all, she was really intrested in the Norse Mythology herself and was always open for a listening ear.

"All right then, would you like me to read it out loud for you?" she asked. Frigga nodded fiercely while she tried to lift the book so she could hand it to the old lady.

The woman smiled. She was in love with that exited, inquisitive look in the girls eyes. She picked up the book and sat down in a chair near the section. She took Frigga on her lap and opened the book. The little girl watched in excitement. Also Loki, who was still sitting on the other side of the room, pretending to read fixed his attention on the woman.

"Now then…" the old lady started like she was going to tell Frigga a fairy tale. "Thor Odinson was born on Asgard! He is the son of Odin and he's really powerful. He is also known as The God Of Thunder. With his Mighty hammer Mjölnir, he can control the weather and make it storm…"

The old lady pointed at the pictures in the book, not noticing the nervous girl on her lap. Frigga had to do her best not to say anything. She already knew all this stuff about her father. That wasn't why she was here.  
The old woman turned page after page and Frigga only got more and more impatient until her eye fell on the picture she had been searching for.

"And who is that?" she immediately asked, pointing at the picture. The library lady stopped talking. She had been talking about something on the previous page before Frigga interrupted. Her eyes followed Frigga's pointing finger.

"Oh, well, that's Loki…"

At the other end of the room Loki froze in his chair. So that was it... Frigga had been searching for information on him.

"He's Thor's brother" the old lady continued. "Well, stepbrother, in fact" she immediately corrected herself to the delight of Loki.  
"He was born on Jotunheim. That's the world of the frost giants. So Loki is in fact a frost giant, but he was raised alongside Thor by Odin. He is known as The God Of Mischief. He used his magic to pull tricks on everyone. He did very bad things with it, actually he's kind of the bad guy in some stories and…"

"That's not true!" Frigga suddenly called out.

The lady dropped the book in surprise. She looked at Frigga who suddenly looked very angry. Even Loki didn't really follow what just had happened. Was Frigga actually defending him?

"Loki isn't bad and he doesn't use his magic for bad things! He saved my sand castle!" Frigga called out, irritating a couple of the other visitors.

The old lady didn't know what she had said wrong nor did she understand what the girl was talking about. Her sand castle?  
"That's only what the book says, sweetheart…" she said softly, trying to calm the girl down.

"Well then the book is wrong!" Frigga answered angrily while she picked up the book, ready to throw it away, but the lady quickly stopped her.

"Of course, sweetheart. Now then, you give the book to me and then we'll go to the kids section. We'll find you a funny book about Spongebod, shall we?"

Frigga shook her head, still angry, and disappeared before the old lady could stop her. The lady watched the little girl in concern before putting the book back on its spot. Then she walked away, mumbling to herself that she should talk to Frigga's parents.

Loki blinked confusedly. Frigga actually believed he was… good. The young king groaned.  
_Oh damn, how she is gonne hate me when she finds out the truth…_ he thought. For some reason he was actually concerned about the girl. About his… his … niece…

Loki got to his feet and put the books back on the shelves. He didn't feel like reading anymore… With his hands in his pockets the young king slowly made his way through the endless bookcases. When he passed the section of the Norse Mythology he hesitated and looked at the book Frigga'd just taken. A part of him wanted to pick it up and read the part about Loki, but Loki couldn't do it. Besides, he knew who he was. He didn't need a book to tell him that! The book was probably full of mistakes anyway… So Loki past by the Norse Mythology section and tried to think of something else then the look of trust on Frigga's face.

Thor sighed. He hadn't found anything of interest on the Tessaract. Not that it really surprised him. For people the Tessaract only existed in legend.

Loki/Tony was standing next to him, apparently lost in thoughts. In front of him he saw Frigga and Jane, queuing to lend the books. Frigga had gathered a pile of at least five books and was telling her mother about all the books she'd had to leave behind. At long last it was their turn and after another five minutes they walked towards the exit where Thor was waiting. Frigga went silent when she saw Loki. The God of Mischief noticed, but tried to ignore her. Maybe if he could get her to disliked him, she wouldn't be so surprised when she found out the truth…

Half an hour later, Thor opened the front door. Frigga ran to her room to put away her books and Loki, who changed his appearance, sat down on the couch. Because he was lost in thoughts he didn't notice the worried expressions on Jane and Thor's faces. Both parents disappeared to their room.

Loki closed his eyes for a second. Right now he regretted their little trip to the library. What was happening to him! He was actually concerned about Frigga, about his arrogant brother's daughter…  
The young king sighed and opened his eyes again.

Frigga slowly made her way from her bed room to the living room. She tried not to make a sound while she cautiously sneaked through the house, trying to hide a book behind her back. She glanced into the living room. There was nobody there, except for Loki who was looking quite bored. As quiet as a mouse she made her way to the couch.

Loki looked up at the girl and supressed the desire to groan. He really didn't want to see her at the moment.

The little girl seemed really excited about something. She quickly looked around the room to make sure her parents weren't watching before showing Loki the book she had been hiding.

It was a rather old, dog-eared book and it seemed like it had been through several wars. The pages, wrinkled and yellow, were turning soft at the edges because of the many readers, the back had been repaired more than once with Scotch tape and it smelled ... used. The young king glanced at the cover which showed a raven haired boy on a flying broomstick. The boy wore glasses and seemed to be chasing a flying golden ball. On the back ground, Loki could see a castle and some kind of horse…

_Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone _it said and on the bottom: _J. K .ROWLING_

"What's this?" Loki asked after a couple of seconds.

"It's a book!" Frigga answered excitedly.

Loki rolled his eyes.  
"I can see that…" he said in a bored voice, but Frigga wasn't going to give up that fast.

"It's about magic!" she explained enthusiastically. "I haven't read it yet... 'cuz I can't read yet, but everybody talks about it ... and... and there're movies about it...I thought you might want something to read. I thought you might like it… because of the magic…"

Loki looked at the cover once more. He didn't really see what was magical about a boy flying on a medieval cleaning tool.

"I… I don't think Mummy noticed I brought it…" Frigga continued mysteriously. Loki waited a couple more seconds before taking the book. He had to admit: Frigga kept impressing him.

A door opened. Frigga looked up and ran to the kitchen when she recognised her parent's footsteps. Thor and Jane came in, worried expressions still covering their faces. Loki quickly put aside the book. He had the feeling something was wrong. Very wrong…  
Thor threw Loki an accusing look. The young king frowned. What had he done wrong this time, but instead of starting to shout at him, as Loki expected, both parents just ignored him and went to the kitchen.

"Frigga, sweetheart. We need to talk…" the young king heard.

"What's wrong, Mummy?" Frigga asked a little too quickly. She was obviously thinking her parents knew about the book she had brought with her for Loki. Was that so wrong?

"Miss. Collins, the lady from the library told me that you were searching for books in the Norse mythology section. She said you wanted to know more about daddy and that you got really angry with her…" Jane said.

It stayed silent for a couple of seconds. In the living room, Loki was determent to follow the conversation since it was probably about him.

"I… I just wanted to…to know… something…" Frigga stuttered. Loki could hear she was trying hard to cry. She probably thouth that her parents were angry with her...

"What did you want to know, sweetheart?" Jane asked kindly, but it was Thor who answered the question.

"Something about… about… Loki?" The God of Thunder said, knowing his brother could probably hear everything they said.

"Y… Yes…" Frigga answered timidly. Loki could hear Thor sigh.

"But why?" Jane asked cautiously.

Frigga couldn't take it anymore. Were her parents really that naïve?  
"Because nobody tells me anything!" she screamed not able to hold back the pain in her voice.

Again, a short silence filled the house, but Frigga wasn't finished yet.

"F.. First there was grandpa and then he.. he was gone. And there we knights … from Asgard and they didn't know any… anything and you n…neither, daddy! And mummy was scared and you were angry… And then you were m… mean! And you hit him! You both hit Loki, but you said that he.. he w… was your brother! So why would you h…hit him? And he said he was king! But.. But grandpa is king! And then the old lady s…said that Loki was a frost giant! But you t…told m...me that they w.. were bad and that The Allfather had … had defeated them… But the lady said that he r.. raised L…Loki and that Loki used m…magic to… do bad stu… stuff.. And she s..said.. that…" Frigga shouted between sobs.

"Frigga, Frigga!" Jane called out in a desperate attempt to stop her daughter. The little girl shut up and broke down in tears.

"Honey…" Thor tried after a couple of seconds. "You should have said something…"

"You w…wouldn't s…say anything! You…you said you w…would, but you di…didn't…" Frigga stuttered.

Loki could almost feel the look the two parents shared to before making a decision.

"All.. all right then, Frigga, we'll tell you the truth…but it's not a funny story…" Thor said not able to hide the pain and desperation in his voice. Frigga was so young, she shouldn't have to go through this already.

Loki suddenly panicked. He quickly got to his feet and tried to sneak out of the living room before the family would enter, but it was in vain.

"Oh no, forget it, you're not going anywhere, Loki!" a heavy voice sounded behind him. Loki froze in his tracks and bit his lip. He knew this would happen but, honestly, he had hoped it would … well… never happen… especially not after the trust Frigga had shown.

The young king turned around. He smiled.  
"I'm sorry, but what is this about?" he said innocently.

"Oh, please, Loki. Don't pretend like you didn't hear what we were talking about! You were way to quiet!"

"I'm always quiet!" Loki answered with a grin.

"Exactly!" Thor said bitterly. "Sit!"

Loki sighed and sat down on another chair opposite from the couch. Thor took a stool from the kitchen and put it in front of the TV screen next to Loki. Jane and Frigga sat down on the sofa. Frigga dried her tears and tried to smile.

Loki sighed. He threw a quick look on the girl in front of him and cursed under his breath. Now she was definitely going to hate him! And even worse: she would be damn scared… Frigga had been his only possible chance to convince Thor.

"All right…" Thor started. "We'll tell you everything you want to know, but you won't like everything I say…"

Frigga nodded. She was ready for this, at least, that was what was she had been telling herself the whole time.

So Thor began to talk.  
"Like Miss. Collins told you: Loki is my brother."

"Stepbrother!" Loki interrupted.

Thor suppressed the desire to shout at Loki.  
"Stepbrother…" he continued. "Miss. Collins was right. Loki wasn't born on Asgard, but on Jotunheim. After Odin had defeated the frost giants he found a baby, Laufey's son, cast out because he was too small. My father took him in and raised him as his own."

Thor waited a moment and looked at Loki. The young king just ignored him. He really hated it when people talked about Odin as if he had done a good thing by lying to him…

"It was our mother, Queen Frigga, who told Loki how to use magic. It made him the God Of Mischief, which means he … pulled tricks on everyone…" Thor continued.

Loki couldn't help to smile. _Pull tricks on everyone… _he thought _Oh please…_

Thor took a deep breath. The next part wasn't something he liked to remember…  
"A couple of years ago, before you were born, I was going to be crowned King of Asgard. It should have been my day of triumph, but Loki, who was jealous of me, had brought three Jötuns into Asgard without Heimdall noticing. They broke into the weapons vault and tried to steal…"

Thor told Frigga everything about what had happened that day. About his stupid attempt to find out how the Jotuns had entered Asgard. How he'd almost brought war upon the nine realms and how Odin banished him for what he had done. He asked Loki to tell Frigga about what had happened on Asgard during his absence, but the young king refused to talk about it, so Thor told his daughter everything he'd learned when he had returned.

Every time Loki's name was mentioned, Frigga's face turned paler nd paler. Thor didn't leave out any detail of Loki's plan to destroy Jotunheim and kill him and his friends only to impress The Allfather and Loki didn't interrupt one time…

When they reached the part where Loki returned, using the Tesseract, Frigga couldn't control her tears anymore. Slowly the young king could see every last bit of Frigga's trust in him leave her bright blue eyes.

"It was Loki who leaded the Attack of New York. He'd set up an alliance with an alien race, known as the Chitauri. In return for the Tesseract they would give him the Earth. By using a sceptre, powered by the Tesseract, he controlled a lot of people, like our friends Eric Selvig and Shield Agent Clint Barton. After The Avengers had stopped the attack, I took Loki back to Asgard where he was sentenced to spent the rest of his days in a cell."

Frigga looked at her father in disbelief before turning to Loki. The young king couldn't stand the sight of the little girl crying, knowing that everything she believed in had turned to dust in a matter of minutes.  
Frigga grabbed her mother's T-shirt, hoping to find some comfort or to prove that she was dreaming.

Jane looked at her husband. Thor swallowed. For a couple of seconds the only sound in the room were the silent sobs of Frigga.

"What's the matter, brother?" Loki suddenly said in his usual, sarcastic voice. "Don't stop now, she deserves to know everything!"

Thor looked at his brother, his eyes filled with cold hatred. "She's heard enough!" The God of Thunder said bitterly.

Loki smiled.  
"Oh really? I wonder what she might think of what _you_ did… If _you_ don't tell her, I will!"

"Right, now you want to talk! Go on then! Tell her!" Thor shouted furiously.

Loki didn't move.  
"How am I supposed to know what happened? I was rotting in my cell! Remember!" the young king hissed between clenched teeth.

Thor couldn't take it anymore. Furiously he sprang to his feet.  
"How dare you! You were there because of a reason! You should be grateful father didn't have you killed! What a pathetic king you should be! You can't even admit your own crimes!" he shouted.

Loki's eyes turned dark. Pain and sorrow filled his heart when he heard Thor use the same words as his mother had done during her last visit. The last time he'd seen her…

"Oh right, because I wanted to bring order to a world in chaos…"

"You've killed and used innocent people!" Thor shouted.

Loki sprang to his feet.  
"I did what had to be done! And don't you dare to blame me of killing the innocent. It was only a few compared to the lives you and that imbecile of a father have taken! You've killed hundreds, if not thousands. And every single one of them was only fighting for what he though was right or was forced to fight! Can you blame them for that!"

"The people of Earth were defenceless.." Thor began, but Loki was quick to interrupt.

"Really, is that what you call it…" he said with a evil grin. "The Midgardians were far from defenceless if you ask me…"

A surprised expression covered Thor face.

"Oh, yes, brother, I did my research. Those S.H.I.E.L.D. – fools were ready to blow up New York. To kill another million people! They fired a nuclear weapon and if it weren't for Stark you wouldn't even have a city to protect anymore!"

"They were desperate!" Thor tried, but he knew Loki would have an answer ready.

"Exactly my point! Midgardians are puny, pathetic creatures hiding behind their technology. In the end, the only thing their good at is destroying their own world!"

The room went silent except for Frigga's silent sobs.

A hoarse laugh broke the silence. Loki looked at his brother in disbelief. He really couldn't understand what was so funny…

"Mother was right… You _are_ perceptive about everyone but yourself…" the God of Thunder said a lot more relaxed now.

His words struck Loki like a bomb. The young king could feel the anger raging through his body.

"How dare you to drag her into this! Frigga has nothing to do with this!"

"You just don't want her to! Do you really think she would have wanted any of this?" Thor asked, knowing he'd found Loki's soft spot. He knew that it was unwise to make his brother angry, but he was to angry himself to pay attention to that...

"How would you know what she wants? She not here, is she!"

"That's exactly why we should honour her memory…" Thor tried angrily, but Loki interrupted.

"Honour! How can you even think like that after you got her killed!" Loki exclaimed furiously. His eyes were turning darker every second."You… You put me away, to rot into eternity. You were too late because you were too busy fighting a handful of unimportant prisoners. Were you really that naïve to believe it was only a stupid outbreak! You just enjoy it, don't you! Showing off! Showing how incredibly strong the Mighty Thor is… And where was Odin… No, it's always been me who has to fix your mistakes, who has to get you out, who has to do… your bloody job! Only because you are too damn stupid to see the bigger picture…"

"I know!" Thor suddenly interrupted. Loki, breathing heavily, not able to control his temper, watched his brother in surprise. A sad, yet understanding, expression covered Thor's face.

"What?" Loki asked out of breath.

"I know!" Thor repeated. "I know Frigga death is on me… I know that you would have saved her, that _you_ would have been in time…" The God of Thunder said, failing to hide the pain in his voice.

Loki watched him in astonishment. He never thouth Thor would actually take the blame. But on the other hand.. it wasn't that big of a surprise. If you tried hard enough, you could get Thor to blame himself for global warning…

"But it happened, Loki. And even though I would give everything to turn back time... to make it right and save her, it's just not possible. Fighting over it won't bring her back!" Thor finished.

Loki laughed.  
"Great!" he said sarcastically. "So what now… Maybe we should put _you_ in a cell now… Oh but wait… We should banish you! Give you a second chance! Punish you by giving you the opportunity to show off again!" the young king shouted.

Thor frowned. Was that it? Was that why Loki hated him so much? Because Odin gave him a second chance?

"Loki… The Allfather only banished me because…"

"Because you were supposed to be king!" the young king hissed, spitting out every word like it was something disgusting. "I honestly thought, those first days, he would make me king in your place, but that was never going to happen, no matter how hard I tried…"

"You know that is not true…" Thor tried once again, but Loki was too angry to listen.

"Don't give me that crap, Thor! I was never going to be your equal. I am a filthy frost giant and I will always will be! I was nothing to that disgusting piece of a liar! Nothing more than a sop, a backup plan... only good for peacekeeping if necessary!" he shouted furiously. Loki knew he was giving to much away. He never wanted Thor to know all this, it made him look and feel week. But at the moment nothing mattered anymore. The rage filled his body from top to bottom. He could feel the energy crackling on his skin like electricity.

"Loki, father loved you, just as much as mother loved you.. as we all did. Father never wanted to…"

"Odin! Is! Not! My! Father!" Loki finally called out, not able to hide the deception and grief in his words.

The young king clenched his fists, trying to hold back the upcoming energy wave, but it was in vain. The second Loki's words had left his lips a powerful shockwave, departing from Loki's body, flooded the room. Thor was thrown back and landed painfully on the TV screen which was crushed under his weight. Everything else in the room broke or was blasted away. The couch, with Jane and Frigga still on it, tilted backwards and covered them – unintendedly – against the flying books, bowls and glass shards.

Loki closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. With a lot of effort he managed to breath out.

The young king opened his eyes. To his astonishment he felled how a single tear slowly made its way down his cheek. Slowly he lifted his hand to catch the tear with his fingertips. Loki brought his hand in front of his eyes and stared at the small drop of salty water, dangling at his left index finger. He frowned in disbelief. He was actually crying… He never cried! Well, almost never… Not anymore…

A new wave of pure anger filled his body. Again a simple truth became clear for his eyes: he hated Thor with every fibre of his existence!

The young king clenched his fists, crushing the tear. Without saying a word or even paying any attention to the damage he'd done, Loki turned around and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

"Loki! Wait!" Thor called out while he tried to escape from a network of tangled wires, but The God of Mischief was gone.

Thor who was tired of trying to untie the wires, just ripped them apart and hurried to the couch.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly seeing Jane's white face.

"What are you doing!" the scared mother exclaimed while she tried to get Frigga to blink again. "Get after him! Who knows where he's going?"

Thor shook his head. "Don't worry, I know where he's going…" he said convincingly while pulling the couch up straight again.

"Now… help me clean up this mess…"

* * *

I hope you liked it (I certainly liked writing it :D)

I'm really sorry, but it's possible that the next upload will take some time. The end of Easter holidays in getting near so that means: school = homework :(

Yet, I won't forget you guys, that's a promise ;)

Anyway, let me know what you think

Please review! :)


	12. Chapter 11

Hi everyone! I know: it took a while... sorry! I really hope you'll like it!

* * *

_**Chapter 11**_

Loki ran up the stairs. Floor after floor, until he lost count. Finally, he blasted open the door leading to the roof and ran outside. It was already dark and the moon and stars lit up the black sky. The young king didn't know where he was, what he had done and what he was gonna do, but it didn't matter anymore. He'd had enough!

Loki grabbed his head while he ran further on the roof. He wanted to scream. To scream out all his frustration, but all he could think off was that look of pure terror on Frigga's face. She had been so scared, so terrified… of him!

"How could I've been so stupid!" he shouted. Why did every plan of his had to turn out bad… It all had looked so perfect in the beginning. Why did he let Thor go in the first place! He had been right there, right in front of him. He could have stopped him from leaving, but he didn't because he thought Thor could be useful later and because the prince was too dangerous to keep on Asgard, even imprisoned.

"Heimdal! Open the Bifröst now!" Loki shouted to the sky. He didn't care that he was standing on top a building the Bifröst would probably destroy… He didn't care he was in the middle of the city… All he wanted was to go back.

"Heimdal, you bloody idiot! Open the Bifröst now! I command you!" Still nothing happened.

Loki could feel the energy running over his skin, creating new shockwaves, but he didn't care. He was too angry to give a damn.

"I told him, didn't I?" Loki called out pacing around the roof. "I told Thor the truth, isn't that what you wanted? Now open the Bifröst!"

Loki's word echoed in the wind until he couldn't hear anything, but the sounds of the never sleeping city beneath him. The young king walked to the side of the roof and looked over the barrier to the street underneath him. He placed his hands on the cold stone and bend over, breathing heavily, like he'd just ran a marathon.

"Sure.." he whispered with a broken voice. "Just ignore me… just hate me… like everybody else…"

The young let out a frustrated breath and turned around, allowing himself to sit down on the edge. He took his head in his hand and just listened to the noises around him for a moment. For the first time ever he actually felt lonely… He'd always been lonely, but it never really bothered him. But now, it almost felt like he was completely alone in the world, in the universe.

Loki rubbed his temples. "Just get used to it, idiot!" he whispered to himself. "You're never gonna win, not from Thor, not from anyone… You know why?"

Loki got on his feet and started pacing around the roof again, trying to keep himself calm.  
"Because you're the damn bad guy, Loki! And the bad guys never win, they never get … happy endings…" Loki shouted thinking of what his mother always used to say after a story or when he'd woken up from a nightmare.

(MEMORY)

"Can't you sleep, Loki?"

The young prince shook his head, forcing his tears of fright to return to where they came from. He pulled up his sheet until only his light grey eyes were visible. Frigga smiled and walked in the dark room. She set down on the side of Loki's huge bed and softly touched her son's sweating forehead. The little boy shivered under her cold touch, but relaxed when he saw her kind smile.

"Did you have another nightmare?" she asked after a short silence.

The young prince first shook his head furiously, but after his mother's meaningful look he slowly nodded. Why couldn't he be as brave as his brother? Thor never had nightmares! At least he said he didn't…

"What was it about?" Frigga asked in a whisper coming closer to her son's face, as she always did when Loki was going to tell her a secret.

Loki cautiously let go of the sheet and looked at his mother. He bid his lip. It wasn't really courageous or anything to tell your mother about your nightmares. What if Thor found out? He would laugh at him for years to come…

Frigga noticed Loki's hesitation and looked around the room, as if she was checking if anyone was watching. Then she leaned over to Loki and smiled her mysterious smile. Her eyes lit up for a second and Loki already knew what she was going to say, before the words left her mouth.  
"It's our little secret!"

The young prince smiled.  
"Father told us about the frost giants today, mother… And Thor said he was going to kill all of them. We said we were ready for it… But…I wasn't scared or anything… but I was thinking… What if we have to fight the frost giants one day, mother? What if I can't do it? What if I'm too weak? Thor is always talking about fighting and he's also really good at it, but I'm not… even Sif is better than me… and she's a girl!" the young prince said with a embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

Frigga waited before answering. She could see that her son was still struggling to tell her the real problem. After a short silence, Loki continued.

"What if something would happen to Thor? What if I couldn't protect him? What if he d… dies because of… me…"

Frigga frowned. "Is that what your nightmare was about?"

Loki nodded. "They were everywhere, mother. And I couldn't move, I was so scared, but Thor…"

Frigga stopped her son from talking. Loki's big puppy dog eyes looked up at her.

"First of all: it's not because your brother is better now that it will stay that way. And I've been teaching you magic, I think you'll be more then capable to protect Thor from about anything… I even think you're already protecting him right now… every day!" Frigga added in a whisper.

"Secondly, there is one thing you need to keep in mind!"

Loki looked at his mother expectantly. She smiled an put a lock of his black hair behind his ear before continuing.

"When your father told you the story of the frost giants… what were the frost giants in the story?"

Loki frowned. "The… the bad guys…" he answered softly.

His mother smiled again, her eyes lit up. Another secret was coming! Loki went even more silent while he eagerly waited for his mother's advice.

"There's one thing you should know about bad guys…" she said before leaning over again to whisper in her son's ear. "The bad guys never win, they never get to live happily ever after…"

(END MEMORY)

Loki never really thought of himself as the _bad guy_… But after what he'd heard in the library…

And it was all so obvious… he was a frost giant! He'd been the _bad guy _ever since he was born!

The young king sighed and stroke back his hair. That's when he realised he'd fucked up… he really messed up this time… Now Thor would never believe he could be king, a good king!

-xxx-

Loki groaned and turned around. He was now sitting on the edge of the building, feet dangling down. The height didn't really frighten him. Loki just sat there, thinking over the times he used to spend with his mother. Why didn't she ever tell him? All right, that Odin was a senile liar… he could live with that, but Frigga? She never lied to him, about anything. But even when she knew who and what her son was, she still portrayed the frost giants as _bad guys_. Loki wondered if Odin or Frigga would have told him anyway… Probably not… If it weren't for that "unfortunate" moment in Jotunheim, they would – probably – only tell him when it was necessary… When he was _needed… _The young king scowled and looked down at the cars and people beneath him. For a moment he thought about jumping, but he was quite sure the fall wouldn't kill him. It would probably just hurt, really, really bad!

Loki shook his head. What was he thinking! Now he even started to think as those puny humans!

Still, though... there was one thing the young king just couldn't quite understand… Neither Odin, nor Frigga had told Thor anything about his true nature. Not even when he came of age… Why not?

Immediately Loki had to think of what Odin had said.

_I wanted only to protect you from the truth…_

The young king sniggered. What a great job Odin had done protecting him…

Loki sat quietly for another ten minutes, staring down, thinking about Asgard. About Heimdall and how he probably was enjoying the sight of him messing up brilliantly…

A sudden sound sounded through the night. Loki didn't turn around, he just listened. Someone had come up the stairs and almost tripped over the door he had ripped out off the wall. It wasn't Thor, Loki was sure of that. He would have heard his brother coming from two floors down. So who was it then? It had to be someone who knew Loki, because every rational mind would have turned around at the side of the destroyed door.

The young king still refused to look. The stumbling had stopped. Whoever it was, he or she was clearly hesitating to come further. Was it Frigga? What was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be hiding under her blanket? Curled up in her bed, crying…

The steps came closer. Loki could feel a pair of staring eyes in his neck.

"You're not gonna jump, are you?" a female voice sounded through the night. Loki was surprised. Jane Foster… Why did she come up? He still didn't turn around nor did he answer.

Jane wasn't going to give up that fast. Carefully she walked closer until she knew Loki could see her. She hesitated. Would she go sit next to the God of Mischief? Would he push her of the roof? Jane decided to ignore her instincts and sit down next to Loki, making sure she didn't look down. Heights weren't really her idea of comfortable. She looked at Loki, expecting some kind of reaction but he didn't move.

"Thor thought you would be here… Seems like he was right… He said you always used to sit on the roof after a fight…" Jane started while she fixed her eyes on the top of the Empire State Building. _Don't look down, don't look down…_

Loki still didn't respond. He just stared into the night, no expression on his face. Jane sighed.

"Oh, come on! You just blew up my house! The least you can do is talk to me…"

Loki sniggered.  
"If I wanted to blow up your house, I would have blown up the whole block. That was far from an explosion…"

Jane pulled up her eyebrows. Oh well, at least he was talking to her… She hesitated to ask the next question. She had been thinking about it quite some time and she knew what Loki's reaction would be, but still…

"Why… Why do you hate him so much." She asked. "Why do you hate your brother that much…"

Jane bit her lip. What now? She expected Loki to start shouting stuff like :"He's not my brother!" or at least an expression of pure surprise, but what happened was something entirely else…

The young king didn't do anything!

Jane waited. She had the feeling Loki would answer… He had to!

After a couple of minutes the God of Mischief opened his mouth.  
"I don't hate my brother! I never have…" he said softly.

Jane blinked confusedly. Did she miss something?  
"Then you should know that destroying someone's house is the wrong way of showing that…"

Loki sniggered. "I never hated my brother.. I just hate Thor!"

"Do you have any kind of other brother then? Because I'm not following…"

Loki stayed silent for a moment, overthinking his words.  
"People always seem to forget Thor and I had a life before all… this… Quite a long one by the way…"

Jane nodded. "Your point being…"

Loki sighed. "It's really not that hard to understand!" he said more harshly then he initially meant.  
"Thor and I grew up together, side by side, no matter what happened in the end. We were the princes of Asgard and even though we knew that every single citizen of our world would gladly lay down his life to protect us, we knew that - in the end – we only had each other. We looked after one another, even though Thor's always been a little brat."

"So, back then you didn't hate him…" Jane asked. It was hard to think of Loki like that after everything that had happened.

Loki looked at the woman next to him. "Yes… is that so surprising?"

"Yes!" Jane answered a little too quickly.

Loki looked at her for a couple more seconds, overthinking Jane's reaction. He sighed and shook his head.  
"You should thank me! If it weren't for me, you probably would never have met Thor in the first place…"

Jane's first reaction was to say: "If it were up to you, Thor would be dead already!", but Loki's words made her keep her mouth shut. Neither of them said a word and silence filled the air.

"Thank you…" Jane suddenly said softly after a couple of minutes. Loki looked up in surprise. He hadn't exactly expected her to actually thank him, but he refused to let Jane see that.

"For… everything…" Jane continued cautiously.

This time Loki couldn't hide his surprise.  
"Everything meaning what exactly?" he asked after a short silence.

"Everything you've done for Frigga…"

Loki swallowed. "If I'm not mistaking: your daughter hates me and is terrified… of me…"

Jane rolled with her eyes. "What is it with you and 'hating'…"

Loki didn't answer so Jane went on.  
"Frigga doesn't hate you and she's not scared of you… at least not for ever…."

Loki rolled his eyes, but Jane wasn't finished yet.

"My point is that you managed to make her trust you! I put her in bed just ten minutes ago and you know what she said? 'He still saved my castle, Mummy!'"

Loki frowned.

Jane understood she finally had Loki's full attention.  
"Just so you know: Frigga gets bullied at school. There're a couple of guys there who think it's funny to bully my little girl. She has a really hard time trusting people, but she decided to trust you of all people."

Jane's words echoed through the night. Her voice broke. She never really talked about the fact that her daughter was bullied. Even Thor didn't know. They had decided that it was safer if Thor didn't show up as Frigga's father. There was a big chance that all those _Avenger-obsessed_ kids would recognise him. For as far as the school knew, Frigga's father travelled a lot and was barely at home. Therefor Jane took care of all the school business.

She'd never told Thor because she was almost certain her husband would teach those kids a lesson himself.

"I'm not saying that I agree with that, but my little girl seems to trust you. If she wants to give you a chance then I'm ready to do the same…"

Loki didn't know what he was hearing. Was this a dream? Was he sleeping? Was he hallucinating?

Jane could feel the tense situation reach its peak and decided to quickly add something.  
"But, honestly, blowing up my house isn't my idea of a new chance…" she said with a smile.

Loki smiled and Jane was almost certain there was something different about that smile. It wasn't the sinister grin she'd grown used to, no, what she saw was a real smile…

-xxx-

Loki didn't quite understand what was happening to him. Feelings he'd never felt before in his life started to take over his heart. Feelings he could only describe as some kind of happiness… some kind of …proud…

Jane hesitated to ask the next question. She'd been thinking about it a lot these last days, but she was scared of Loki's reaction. After a minute of fighting against her rational sense she finally opened her mouth.  
"What was… What did I… Did I…" she started, but the words just didn't seem to find the right way to form the sentence.

Jane took a deep breath and tried again.  
"Did I say something wrong about… The Tesseract?"

Loki froze and clenched his teeth.

Jane immediately regretted asking the question. Why did she even ask! She'd finally managed to get Loki to open up. Just a bit! Jane sighed, but made sure the god of Mischief couldn't hear it.

Oh well… Jane knew Loki wouldn't say anything anymore. She was ready to leave when Loki opened his mouth.

"You have to stop!" the young king said softly.

Jane looked at him in surprise, alarmed by the scared tone in his voice. "Excuse me?"  
Jane's eyes fixed on Loki's trembling hands. It was obvious he was trying to hide it, but his clenched jaws and rapidly blinking eyes betrayed him.

Loki sighed and closed his eyes. He knew that tone… Jane'd noticed he was scared. _Damn! _

"You have to stop!" he repeated in a stronger voice. "Stark has to stop!"

Jane frowned. Honestly, she was surprised… Loki, The God of Mischief, the monster that attacked New York, killed innocent people, faked his own death and murdered his own father was actually scared to death!

"I suppose you mean the Tesseract?" she asked cautiously.

"You can't make a new Tesseract, you'll need some kind of ancient dark magic. But you, especially Stark, can make an equal power source! You have no idea what kind of danger you're putting yourself and everybody else in!" Loki answered while fixing his eyes on the women next to him.

Jane immediately wanted to sigh and say something like: "What is it with that Tesseract! Why does everybody think we're going to use it for bad purposes!", but Loki's words and serious look, not to mention the now obvious fear in his voice, convinced Jane to keep her mouth shut.

"All right…" she said after she'd made sure the young king wasn't playing with her… For some reason Loki's words had more effect on her then Thor's endless speeches about the dangers of the Tesseract. She wasn't going to stop her research, of course, she'd put way to much work in it to just give it up now, but she promised herself she would look in to the potential danger the Tesseract could be.

Loki nodded and looked back at the city. He still wasn't able to stop his hands from trembling and it was starting to annoy him! Why couldn't he just let it go!

-xxx-

Jane was lost in thoughts. The sudden screeching sound of two cars crushing into each other woke her up. Automatically she looked down. Oh dear… why did she do that!

The moment Jane's brain registered the height, everything started spinning.

_Oh my God! I'm soooo high!_

Colours faded and melted together to a messy compound. Nothing made sense anymore.

_Don't look down! Don't look down!_

But it was too late. Jane knew she was about fall, but another part of her brain shouted that she was all right. She knew she _was _falling! Falling forward! Falling down! Jane stopped breathing. Her heart skipped a couple of beats. Everything was turning and spinning. She heard screaming! Was that her voice or was it all happening inside her head? It had to be because she could still feel the cold stone of the roof under her slipping fingers. Or was it above her? Was it even there? Where was she anyway…

A strong hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backwards. Jane had the feeling she was turning upside down. Again and again. Or wasn't she?

Jane fixed all her attention on the hand on her shoulder. She squeezed her eyes shut. Slowly the sounds of the city found there place again. Under was under again and above was above. Carefully Jane opened her eyes It was then she noticed she'd been holding her breath. She breathed out and looked at Loki who was watching her with a playful grin on his face. He was clearly enjoying this! His hand lay on Jan's shoulder making sure she wouldn't fall over.

"Don't tell me you're scared of heights! Just in case you didn't notice, you're married to The God Of Thunder who likes to fly around in his spare time…"

"Thank you…" Jane squeaked while she tried to smile. Everything had happened in a matter of seconds, but Jane felt like she'd just run a marathon… twice…

Loki nodded and let go of Jane's shoulder. That was the second "thank you" he'd got within ten minutes. It made him feel really uncomfortable.

-xxx-

Jane fixed her eyes on the city making sure she didn't look down. She was still trembling with fear. After a couple of minutes, Jane had finally calmed down a little bit. She looked at Loki, but the God of Mischief just ignored her, so Jane slowly turned around – _Don't look down!_ – and put her feet on the roof. She couldn't suppress a sigh of relief.

Jane got to her feet and looked at Loki. She hesitated. Could she just leave him like that? Here, alone on the roof? But the young king didn't seem to make any attempt to get up so after some more hesitation, Jane decided to leave. She made her way to the door – or what was left of it – but turned around halfway. There was something she had to say. Something she should have said a long time ago…

"And thank you for saving my life back on Svartalfheim… you pushed me out of the way when that bomb-thing went of… could of killed yourself… just wanted to say thank you…" she said with a smile. Loki didn't respond so Jane just turned around and disappeared.

-xxx-

Loki waited until Jane's footsteps had faded before breathing out. He closed his eyes, put his palms together and touched his lips with his fingers. He had to think. Jane had thanked him four times… four "thank yous".. in the same night!

The young king shivered. He knew what he wanted right now. He wanted his mother to walk through that door or to just appear next to him like she'd done when he was in his cell. She would know what to do with these knew feelings.. she would be able to tell him what to do…

For once Loki allowed a couple of lonely tears to leave his eyes. He opened his eyes and looked at his hands. He concentrated. Slowly a small green light started to glow in between his palms. Loki moved his hands away from each other bit by bit. Every second the light grew bigger and stronger until a bright ball of pure light was dancing between his fingers. Loki stared at the light. Afterwards he slowly lifted the ball above his head to the sky.

The young king took a deep breath.

"Fare well, mother…" he whispered while he lett the ball go. It slowly floated skywards. Loki watched it until the ball was nothing more than a bright star, glowing in the dark sky…

* * *

There you go... Hope you liked it!

I'm really sorry it took so long, but I got sooooooo much work for school! It's just crazy! I'll try uploading as soon as possible ;)

Let me know what you think!

Please review!

;)


	13. Chapter 12

Hey everybody! I know, it took really long... :( But, at the moment, I spending my time on studying those stupid test :( please forgive me...

Hope you enjoy it anyway...

* * *

_**Chapter 12**_

Loki took a deep breath and forced the last tears to disappear. Slowly he turned around and got to his feet. Lost in thoughts, he made his way back to the door, or in other words: the hole in the wall…

The young king looked down at the wood of the door, still lying in front of him and frowned. He couldn't just leave it like that… So he picked it up and just put it next to the door… Really, no one actually expected him to put it back where it was supposed to be… right…

Loki descended the stairs. Floor after floor… he was too far gone to notice… Suddenly, a soft sound echoed through the silent building. It was the sound of footsteps… footsteps coming up! Loki quickly changed his appearance. Just in time! A shadow appeared on the dusty floor. A small shadow, showing that someone was about to turn around the corner. Loki tried to look casual. He really didn't want any old irritating woman to start a boring and useless conversation. But it wasn't an old woman… on the contrary...

"Frigga?" Loki said in surprise before he could stop himself. The little girl, dressed in cute pink pyjamas first didn't recognize the strange man before her, but when she did, her expression immediately changed into one of pure fright! She swallowed and froze.  
Loki sighed. He'd almost forgotten the events of that unfortunate night. He looked at the girl in front of him and wondered why she wasn't screaming or running or fainting or just doing something! Maybe what Jane had said was true… Maybe she was still trusting him…

Loki cleared his throat.  
"Don't you have to be in bed right now?" he asked. God, it was difficult to be nice to people! Especially when they're looking at you with big eyes, ready to pop out of their faces!

Frigga shivered when she heard Loki's voice coming out of "Tony's" mouth. The young king clearly didn't bother to much with his appearance in the company of someone who knew him.

The little girl swallowed. She really didn't know what to think of Loki anymore. She just couldn't understand that someone she'd believed in with all her heart could be so … bad…

"I…I…" Frigga stuttered. She took a deep breath. The "Asgardian-part" of her was too proud to show any fear. So the little girl put up a poker face.

"I was on my way to the roof…" Frigga said. She had to try really hard not to show any emotion. Loki pulled up his eyebrows and Frigga gave up. She didn't understand how Loki always managed to keep up his poker face…

Her fear became visible again in her bright blue eyes. "I…eeeh… I always go up when I …eeeh… can't sleep…"

Even though Frigga's lie was quite believable, Loki was trained to notice them. Again he couldn't help to be impressed.

"You mean: when you have a nightmare?" he asked surprisingly kind. Frigga slowly nodded. How did he know that?

The young king smiled once more. He'd just found another thing he and his niece… well… Frigga had in common, which was – in fact – impressive since the two of them weren't related at all… But still…

Loki suddenly realised Frigga'd probably had a nightmare about him. He cleared his throat and tried not to think of that fact.

"Do you parents know you.. go to the roof?" Loki asked as casually as possible. Frigga, who didn't really know what to do with Loki's nice behaviour, shook her head. Weren't bad guys supposed to be… bad… at all times?

Loki sniggered and turned his appearance again into his own. There was no use to spill energy if it wasn't necessary. Frigga shivered.

"So…" Loki continued. "There's never been anyone who came to talk to you…"

Frigga shook her head again and the young king realised she'd probably spend a lot of time on the roof. Loki hesitated. The weirdest idea had just appeared in his mind.

"Do you want someone to listen?" he ask after a couple of seconds. Frigga frowned and automatically shook her head. She wanted to be alone! That was the point of going to the roof.  
Loki smiled. He recognized that look. He'd done the same thing every time his mother came sitting next to him.

The young king took a step back and gestured that Frigga could pass. The little girl looked surprised and frowned once more. Cautiously she passed Loki. The God of Mischief lowered his outstretched arm and gestured to the stairs. After some hesitation Frigga turned her back to him and started climbing the stairs leading to the roof with Loki in her wake. When they reached the roof, Frigga immediately walked to the edge. Loki followed.

"You're not scared of heights?" he asked after a couple of silent seconds. Frigga shivered in the cold night - she should have brought a sweater – and wondered if she was going to answer. She had to admit: it felt strange… someone being here, offering to talk… She never talked! She just came up here and ordered whatever thoughts were racing through her mind.

A few minutes later, Frigga finally decided that she rather enjoyed the company. At least she didn't feel so alone…

"No, I'm not scared!" she said with a strong voice. "I'm not scared of … anything!"

Loki smiled softly. He knew Frigga was going to say "anyone"… she probably wanted to hide her fear for him…

"So… are you going to tell me what the nightmare was about?" the young king asked, surprised to hear the question coming from his mouth. He already knew the answer… She'd dreamed of him! Frigga's hesitation conformed his thoughts.

"Do people change?" the little girl suddenly asked.

Loki frowned. He didn't quite understand the question, but knowing Frigga, he was sure she knew what she was talking about. Was she referring to him? Sometimes the little girl managed to amaze the young king. After all, she was the same girl who could talk hours and hours about being a princess…

"I'm not people…"Loki finally said. He had the feeling that their conversation only existed of short questions and sentences and long pauses.

"But do they?" Frigga asked after she'd deciphered Loki's answer.

"No!" The God of Mischief simply said. He scowled. No, people, puny humans, never changed!

"Good thing you're not human then!" Frigga said with a smile. Loki opened his mouth to answer but the words never left his lips. Again he was struck back by the girl's logic. The young king sighed.

"If you want a perfect good guy, you should go to your father…"

"My teacher always says: there are no heroes without the villains…" Frigga said silently, while thinking of the endless speeches of her teacher, Miss. Jackson. The middle-aged, greying lady loved to teach her class everything about what was good and what was evil. But with the current _Avenger hype,_ she just couldn't stop talking about the deeper meaning of the Avengers, the heroes. After all, if the Chitauri wouldn't have been there to attack the city, The Avengers probably would have been portrayed as dangerous, as potential bad guys.

Loki looked at the girl and wondered what kind of crazy teacher his niece… Frigga should have. Seriously, she was only five!

" There's a boy is my class.. his father was killed during the Battle of New York. He doesn't remember, but his older brother does. And my teacher's niece died too…"

Loki closed his eyes. The hurt in Frigga's voice gave him the creeps. He knew people had died. Lots and lots of people, but he never actually cared about any of them. One human less… who cared! But Frigga seemed hurt… Why would she care about somebody she probably never knew?

"Did you kill anyone? I mean… on purpose…"

Loki wanted to pull up his shoulders, but the fright in Frigga's voice stopped him. He didn't answer…

"And did you really kill Odin?" the little girl continued, trying to hide the fear in her words. Loki bit his lip…

"I think it's time for you to go back to bed…" he said after a couple of seconds. The young king expected her to start arguing, but Frigga just turned around and quickly made her way back to the stairs. Loki watched her and wondered if she'd run away because she was still scared of him. He cautiously followed. At the top of the stairs he looked down… Frigga'd already disappeared. Only the silent footsteps gave away the little girl running back to her apartment.

-xxx-

Silently Loki opened the front door of the apartment. He'd been standing in the hallway for at least ten minutes, staring at the big, sliver "17" shining on the door before deciding to stay. He didn't really have anywhere to go anyway…

The God of Mischief softly made his way to the spare bedroom. When he passed Frigga's room, he listened at the door to hear if she was still awake. The muted sobs gave him the answer. For the first time in years, Loki actually felt… guilty…

Back in his room, Loki threw a glare on the digital watch. 11:46 it said in big red numbers. The young king sighed and lay down on the bed. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to fall asleep, but for some reason he just wouldn't.

-xxx-

Frigga pulled the blanket further over her head. It was covered in a pattern of stars. Frigga searched the fabric bit by bit, lighting it up with her flashlight. The tears kept coming out of her eyes and blurred her vision. But, honestly, that made it look realer then it had ever done before. Again she wished with all her heart she could fly across those stars. To see all the worlds out there, waiting to be explored! But she knew she probably wouldn't get any farther then her blanket.

Again two big tears dropped on her already soaked teddy bear. Why she was crying? Frigga didn't know. There was so much on her mind, so much to cry about. Only yesterday she'd been one hundred percent sure she wanted to know the truth about… everything, but know she wished she'd never asked. Again she'd lost everything!

After four years of being teased and bullied at school, Frigga had decided that the people of this world just weren't meant to like her. Not meant to be her friends. That wasn't their fault off course… maybe they could sense she wasn't completely like them, but at the end she was still all alone. Every night, Frigga had prayed to about every God she knew, to send her to Asgard. She was sure of it! She would find friends there! There where she belonged! And then, out of nowhere, a real Asgardian came to her, doing the most spectacular things she'd ever seen in her life! But now… even Loki couldn't be her friend! Because he was a murderer! And besides… he probably didn't even like her! Why would he? No one did after all!

"People just don't like you!" Frigga muttered to herself while making the light of her flashlight dance around a faraway solar system.

_But why not? _she thought. Was it because she was something in between? Because she was an Asgardian but also a Midgardian? Did she belong somewhere? Probably not!

Frigga switched out the flashlight an threw it across the room. With a loud bang it hit her door. Frigga curled herself and her teddy bear up under the blanket again and wept silently in the dark. Only the pink numbers of her princesses digital clock lit up her room. It said 05:04 when Frigga woke up from an uneasy sleep because of a sudden sound coming from the room next to her's.

-xxx-

"_No Loki!" Odin says in a low voice, his eyes not once leaving mine… I see sadness, betrayal, disappointment… I knew I'd messed up… again… there was just no way of doing things right! Not for him! Not if Thor was there to show off again!_

_I felt my fingers loose the grip on the golden sceptre I'd been holding as if it were my own, just a couple of seconds ago!_

"_Loki! NO!" Thor's hoarse voice echoed behind me while I fell. My eyes locked on my father's, not able to look away, even though I wanted to. I was falling, faster and faster! I was falling in space! A place where you're not supposed to fall anyway, but the black wormhole behind me was doing its work brilliantly! _

_Thor's voice faded away while an incredible force dragged me to my death. I slowly turned, my view was changing. For the last time I saw my brother, dangling down at the golden sceptre which would soon be his. His mouth in a soundless scream.. my name, I supposed. And my father, that lying piece of a king. No not my father! Odin! The Allfather! He was never my father! It was all a lie! My life had been a lie. Only now, while I turned my back to the people I once called family, I could see the truth. It was a shame Frigga wasn't here. The last time I'd seen my mother she'd looked at me with her eyes filled with an unbelievable amount of grief, disbelieve, betrayal and… love…. If only she were here… On the moment I was going to die… _

Loki screamed and rolled out of the bed, landing on the floor. He opened his eyes and looked up at the white ceiling which was covered in the red light of the morning sun. Cold sweat shone on his forehead making his raven hair stick to his face. Also his clothes felt wet and sweaty. Loki tried to calm his fast beating heart and to get his breath under control. Oh God, he hated nightmares! Did he scream? Did anyone hear him? Loki swallowed and breathed out. He closed his eyes for a second and forced the image of that unfaithful moment to disappear. Cautiously he dragged himself back on the bed. The pillowcase and blanket were soaked with sweat, but the young king didn't really care. One look on the alarm clock made him frown in surprise. 05:21 it said. Normally he would have been up already. Probably because he fell asleep to late the night before. Actually he didn't really remember falling asleep at all! Surprisingly, the young king still felt tired. After a another sigh he closed his eyes again and pretended his mother was standing next to him, just as she used to do when he was a kid…

Slowly, the sleep got its grip on the young king and he drove off into an uneasy sleep, not noticing the two worried, bright, blue eyes staring through the tin gap of the door.

-xxx-

A soft knock on the door of his room woke the young king up. He opened his tired eyes and concluded he felt like shit, after which he closed his eyes again and let his head fall back – face down – in the pillow.

Jane slowly opened the door and looked into the room. She hadn't been sure Loki had returned.

"You don't want any breakfast?" she asked. Her eyes looked across the room. For some reason it didn't feel right. Everything looked… perfect. Loki was sitting on the made up bed, legs crossed, reading a book. He didn't even look up and Jane decided to leave again. She threw one last look on the room and frowned. Something was not right… she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Jane closed the door and walked over to Frigga's room. Just before she opened the door leading to her daughters room, she turned around again, the same frown still covering her face. Was Loki using magic? Was that what she just saw? An illusion? Why in the world would he do that? Was he really back? Could he do that? Creating an illusion, so far away from the apartment? Jane decided he couldn't. She would check up on Loki again later that day.

-xxx-

Loki groaned. He'd had more nightmares than ever before, but like always the first one had been the worst. The young king breathed out and dropped the illusion he'd put on the room to keep Jane from seeing him the way he was. He really hated it when people saw him suffer, when they saw he was vulnerable.

-xxx-

"Sweetheart? Have you seen my keys?" Jane called through the house. Thor came rushing out of the bathroom, toothbrush still in his mouth.

"Thevve on tve kipven tablve!" he said through a mouth full of minty toothpaste. Jane nodded and ran past the broken TV screen to the kitchen where she found her daughter having breakfast… quite literally… Frigga had fallen asleep with her head in her fresh bowl of chocolate cornflakes.

"Frigga!" Jane shouted. The little girl immediately sat upstraight looking around the room confusedly. She caught her mother's eye and froze.

Jane looked at her daughter in disbelieve. Frigga never fell asleep like that! Did she sleep tonight? Or had the events of the day before had more impact on the little girl then she thought?

"I'm sorry Mummy!" Frigga immediately stuttered while she was searching for a towel so she could wipe of the milk of her face. She couldn't believe she'd actually fallen asleep! On the other hand, it wasn't that big of a surprise… Only five minutes before her mother had opened her door, she'd managed to fall asleep. The whole night, she'd heart Loki toss and turn in his bed, tortured by one nightmare after the other. Good thing she didn't have to go to school today… Sadly, her parents both had to go to work. That meant she would soon be joined by Miss Lumiere, un old women who lived two apartments under them and was addicted to cats and parakeets, un unfortunate combination.

Originally she came from Quebec and she just loved to entertain Frigga with her endless stories about her late-husband, about her grandparents and their parents before, about how her family was one of the oldest in America and how they had been the first to arrive in what would be known as Quebec. Frigga was almost certain her story was far from the truth, but it didn't matter what she thought…. Miss Lumiere would always have some old photo graphs of long gone cats ready whenever she noticed she'd lost Frigga's attention. Honestly, every time the little girl heard her parents talk about their "neighbour" she always got a weird sensation in her tummy and quickly imagined her babysit turning into the talking candle from Belle and The Beast.

Again Frigga knew she was going to have a boring day full of cats and parakeets. She sighed. Now she was certainly going to fall asleep!

Jane didn't really know what to say to her daughter, but she could see Frigga was extremely tired and not looking forward to the rest of the day. She reminded herself to look for a different babysit, because even though Miss Lumiere was the sweetest lady in the world, nobody could deny her efficiency as a lullaby…

"Maybe she'll take you to the park today…" Jane said a couple of seconds later while picking up the keys she was searching for.

Frigga threw a tired look on her mother and Jane sighed. Who was she kidding… Jane softly touched her daughter's cheek and smiled before kissing her on the forehead.

Just that moment, a tired looking Loki walked into the kitchen, straight to the fridge, to get himself a coke. Jane smiled relieved. Loki was still here, whatever it was she had seen that morning, there was no reason to panic yet… All though… Loki did look rather exhausted… Jane reminded herself that she didn't know when Loki had come down during the night…. Suddenly another thought crossed her mind. Loki would be alone all day… in her house… after a fight…. One look on the state of the living room only made her fears worse… Thor, who just left the bathroom seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Loki didn't notice the sudden silence and opened up a can and sipped of the soda. He turned around and found the two parents staring at him… He sighed, he really didn't feel like talking nor listening. So he just ignored them and sat down on a chair opposite of Frigga, who was falling asleep again.

Thor walked in the kitchen. He knew it was better to leave Loki alone at the moment, especially after the fight they'd had yesterday. In fact, he was surprised Loki had returned. While thinking of what he would say, Thor walk towards the coffee machine. After he'd poured himself a cup of hot, fresh coffee, he cleared his throat and turned to Loki again, is eyes meeting Jane's while he did. Loki just kept ignoring them and watched Frigga's eyes close again while her head steadily made its way back to the bowl.

"Loki, We both have to go working today…" Thor began cautiously. His brother sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Let me guess…" he said before Thor could continue. "You can't leave me alone… because I'll probably create a wormhole which would suck up the whole block…"

Thor closed his eyes and reminded himself not to get angry with Loki.

"I want you to come with me!" he said. Loki looked up in surprise. He hadn't really thought of any possible "solutions" but this was the last thing he'd expected.

"Thank you for the offer!" the young king said sarcastically. "But I am not going to look on your idiotic face all day!"

"Well, you're not staying here on your own all day, either!" Thor almost shouted.

Frigga, who had been fighting off the sleep during the last five minutes, suddenly got an idea. She opened her eyes and jumped on her feet.

"Daddy!" she shouted in excitement. "He can be my babysit for today! Loki can stay instead of Miss Lumiere!"

Loki, who'd just taken another sip from his drink choked and spat out the coke right into Thor's face, but the God of thunder didn't bother. Jane and her husband looked at their child.

"What?" Jane asked silently as if she was scared she'd misheard. Loki on the other hand just waited patiently, while letting his eyes jump from one person to another.

"Please Mummy! I really don't want to spent the whole day with Miss Lumiere!" the little girl pleaded, putting her hands together. Jane and Thor looked at each other, both struck back and Loki had to try very hard not to laugh. Honestly, that wasn't such a bad idea… not that he wanted to babysit, but at least they would leave him alone! Frigga could take care of herself!

"Honey…" Jane started while a million versions of what could go wrong shot through her head.

"Frigga…" Thor tried.

It remained silent for a couple of seconds and Loki decided to say something.

"I'm okay with it, if anybody was wondering…"

Loki, Jane and even Frigga looked at the young king, surprised expressions covering their faces.

"You want to … babysit…" Thor asked after another short silence. Loki didn't answer, but drank a little of his drink. Frigga took her chance.

"Please Daddy!" she begged, showing her biggest puppy eyes possible. Loki could see Thor was starting to give in.

Thor sighed. His eyes jumped between Loki and Frigga. Obviously, he didn't really look forward to having Loki and his sarcastic comment by his side all day. And he didn't think Loki was going to hurt Frigga or destroy his house… For some reason he got the idea that Loki liked his daughter…

Jane had also noticed her husband's slow surrender and quickly intervened.

"No!" she shouted. "No way!"

Thor looked at his wife, but Loki was the first to speak.

"Why not?" he asked as innocently as he could manage. "I'm out of wormholes you know…"

"Well, for starters, you blew up my home! Excuse me if I don't fully trust you after that!"

Loki smirked. "I already told you: that wasn't an explosion by far…"

"I don't care!" Jane interrupted. She didn't mean to be rude, but a unexplainable strong fear had taken hold of her heart. She couldn't leave her little girl with … Loki! For one whole day!

Loki pulled up his eyebrows. "You want me to repair it then?" he asked nonchalantly.

Jane, who was ready to shout a response again, found herself speechless. The questioning look on her face seemed to amuse Loki. The young king lifted his arm towards the ceiling and opened the palm of his hand while making small circles with his wrist. Behind him all the furniture started moving, flying and turning. Broken glass found its place again, books flew back on their shelves, the wires untangled themselves and lay on the floor waiting for someone with more knowledge of TV cables to be plugged in again.

Thor rubbed his temples and threw an meaningful look on his brother. Loki pulled up his shoulders, lowered his hand and watched Jane with a huge smirk on his face.

Thor groaned silently. He hated it when Loki showed off with his magic tricks. Although he would never admit him, at moments like this he was really jealous!

Jane only just managed to close her mouth. Frigga, who had been watching everything with the same excitement as when she'd seen Loki save her sandcastle or change appearances, clapped her hands and shouted: "Awesome!"

* * *

So, I hope you liked it... I'll try working on the next chapter as soon as possible, but I can't promise anything... Sorry :(

Please, make my day and review ;)

Thx for reading my fic and off course ...Enjoy!

x

PS: there could be a lot of mistakes in this one (I mean more then in the other chapters :) )... sorry about that.. I wanted to upload something for you guys... Don't pay attention to them ;)


	14. Chapter 13

**Hi! It's been a while, but i've been like... REALLY busy with STUDYING! Halfway there...**

**Hope you like it... ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 13**_

"You were saying?" Loki asked. Jane opened and closed her mouth like she'd changed into a fish and threw helpless glared at her husband.

"You… you… you're no babysitter!" she finally stuttered.

"Miss Lumiere isn't one either!" Frigga immediately answered, still excited about Loki's magic. Now she definitely wanted him to stay!

Loki nodded in Frigga's direction. Jane opened her arms, trying to think of another excuse.

"Jane, maybe.." Thor started to Loki's surprise. Jane looked at her husband is disbelief.

"But he probably can't even make food!"

Loki opened his mouth in awe, pretending he was shocked by Jane's lack of trust and Thor bit his lip.

"Well, actually…" the God of Thunder started, but Loki finished.

"I can't believe you think I can't take care of myself!" he said sarcastically. Jane looked at the young king is shock.

"You.. you can cook…"

Now it was Thor's turn to speak up. "Sweetheart, seriously… I can cook, can't I?"

"Yes.." Jane answered hesitated. "But.. well.. you know…"

"What? Only the 'good guys' are supposed to be cooks?" Loki asked while pulling up his eyebrows. Jane turned red and the young king continued.

"I'm probably even a better cook than Thor!"

Thor looked at his brother. "I beg your pardon!" he said.

Loki watched him with a huge grin covering his face. "Oh dear, jealous, are we?" he said sarcastically.

Jane didn't know what to say anymore. She looked at her husband, but saw that he'd already given in. Helplessly she tried to come up with a new argument. Thor could see his wife was having difficulty trusting Loki, an understandable problem… He walked over to Jane and tried to make eye contact.

"I don't think he going to hurt Frigga…" he said quietly so only Jane could hear it. The worried mother looked up in Thor's bright blue eyes. After a couple of distracting seconds, she finally gave in. After all, she didn't think Loki would hurt her daughter either, especially not after what she'd told him on the roof.

"All right then.. but I want to call every hour! Understood!" she said pointing at Frigga. The little girl nodded excitedly. She looked at Loki, as if she wanted to check if he was sharing her excitement, but the young king just looked bored as ever… or was that really a smile she just saw…

Jane sighed. It would be a long day… Especially if she didn't leave very soon, because Stark just loved to give any latecomer a boring speech, if only to hear himself talk a little bit more…

Jane threw one last look on Loki before hurrying to the hallway. The young king didn't show any emotion. Thor gave Loki a meaningful look before walking over to his daughter to kiss her softly on her head.

"If he's an irritating dick, you can always call or go to Miss Lumiere, understood?" he asked kindly. Frigga nodded quickly. She really didn't see what could go wrong. If Loki wanted to hurt her, he could have thrown her of the roof that night, but off course her parents didn't know that…

Thor turned to his brother. His expression changed and Loki sighed while putting down the now empty can.

"Yes… I know… I probably should start thinking about what kind of grave I would like…" he said with a slight grin playing on his lips. Thor just looked Loki in the eyes to make sure he understood he wasn't kidding. Loki didn't break the eye contact, until Thor sighed and walked out of the kitchen.

Five minutes later both parents stood at the door, hugging their child while Loki watched them in disgust, leaning against the wall. At long last both Jane and Thor left. The young king sighed in relief and walked back into the kitchen to get himself something to eat.

Frigga followed and sat down across the table, following Loki's every move. The young king took a seat and opened up the box of cereals he'd just taken, while ignoring the girls staring eyes.

"Can you teach me now?" Frigga asked after some minutes. Loki looked up from his breakfast and threw the girl a questioning look.

"That magic…" Frigga explained, not able to hide the excitement in her voice.

Loki sighed and dropped the spoon in the milky mixture of cornflakes and milk.

"I already told you! Your parents would definitely kill me!"

Frigga frowned. "But then I would be able to … eeeh… protect myself… and others!"

Loki looked up and could see how Frigga turned red. She was probably referring to the bullies at school, but he reminded himself that he wasn't supposed to know that, so he quickly answered.

"I thought you weren't scared of anything..." he said with a smile. Frigga bit her lip.

"I am! But other people aren't!" she said convincingly. Loki smiled.

"Oh really…" he muttered while stirring around the mess in his bowl. "So you're not scared of me then…" he asked after a couple of seconds. Frigga was clearly shocked by the question. She'd been wondering about that the whole night… Loki looked the girl straight in the eyes and waited patiently. For some reason he wanted to know what she would say.

"I don't think so…" Frigga said cautiously after some thinking. Loki pulled up his eyebrows.

"You don't _think_ so…" he repeated. A serious frown appeared on the little girls face and Loki knew she'd been thinking over the same thing. She probably had a whole theory ready… In his head Loki counted from three to one just before Frigga opened her mouth to explain.

"Well.. you see… I grew up knowing that New York had been attacked by aliens and that the Avengers stopped them. I never really learned anything about you… From my point of view, the Chitauri are the bad guys, they've always been the bad guys… It's just a bit hard to think you in the picture too…"

Loki thought about that and nodded.

"All right, I can live with that…" he said while concentrating on a particularly big piece of cereal.

"But it's unfair how they managed to keep me out of the stories!" he continued. Frigga frowned.

"But why?" she asked. It was a question she'd been wondering about ever since she'd found out that Loki had been responsible for the attack on New York.

"Why what?" Loki asked surprised.

"Why did you attack… ".

Loki looked at the girl as if she'd just asked him what kind of colour the sky was.

"Because the Earth needs a ruler!"

Frigga folded her fingers together and smiled. "Are you sure it wasn't because you were jealous?" she asked.

"No! Why would I be jealous!" Loki answered just a little too quickly. He could see the little girl knew he was lying.

"Like I said… The Earth needed.. _needs_ someone to rule it! I mean.. look what a mess you people are getting yourselves into…"

Frigga's smile disappeared. "That's not true! I know there're problems, but it's not like we're not trying!"

Loki smirked. "I'm just saying, it would be better if you had a leader…"

Frigga scowled. "Then why don't you rule it now? As a king, I'm sure you can…"

Loki groaned. He didn't feel like arguing about something the little girl wouldn't understand.

"I think you better go back to your bed!" he said shortly, before getting up and putting the empty bowl next to the sink.

Frigga crossed her arms before her chest and started staring at the young king, but Loki just ignored her and walked to the living room. With one smooth move he fell onto the couch and picked up the book called: _Harry Potter and the Sorceress's Stone_ by _J.K. Rowling._

He looked at the cover one more time before he opened the book and started reading.

_**The Boy Who Lived**_

_Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were…_

Loki had to admit that right from the first couple of lines, he already liked the book. He even learned some new words, he was definitely going to use on Thor one day like: _good-for-nothing husband _and _unDursleyisch… _And that all on the first page! Why didn't they have one of those _J.K. Rowling_'s on Asgard…

Five minutes later, Loki could feel that Frigga still hadn't moved. He sighed, but kept on reading.

"You know… staring angrily at me won't get you anywhere. I lived alongside Sif my whole life. And I'm quite immune for staring girls in general…"

A sudden sound told Loki Frigga had left her seat and was running towards him. A second later her small, excited face appeared next to him. She sank to her knees, put her hands on the cough and continued staring at the God of Mischief.

"Still not working…" the young king said calmly while flipping to the next page.

Frigga sighed.

"Can you tell me about Sif then?" she asked.

"No!" Loki simply answered.

Frigga sighed irritated and set up her most cute-looking/angry scowl.

"Why no-ot" she asked.

"Because I said 'no'…"

"But why-y-y!" Frigga went on.

"Because I told you to go to sleep…" Loki answered in a monotone voice without looking at the girl.

"But I don't want to go-o-o to slee-ee-eep"

Loki didn't answer and kept on reading so Frigga decided to start staring again. She sat down on the carpet and crossed her arms, fighting off the sleep that was taking over her mind again.

Minutes past and the only sound in the room was that of the turning pages of the book. After ten minutes, Frigga finally gave up. She sighed, got to her feet and made her way to her room, dragging her feet. When her door slammed shut, Loki couldn't keep a small smile of his face. He was rather good at this babysitting stuff. Mentally he tanked Sif for the endless hours of _ignore-staring-people-training. _

-xxx-

About one hour later, Loki was dragged from the book – _Chapter fourteen: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback - _again by the ringing phone. His first reaction was to leave it ringing, but then he remembered it was probably Jane checking up on Frigga. If he didn't pick up, she would be here within five minutes and then he would never be alone again. So the young king quickly got to his feet and walked over to the phone. He looked down at the weird thing and had no idea what to do… How did this thing work again? He tried to think of a moment when Thor or Jane had picked up the phone.

Finally he decided to just pick up the horn. With two fingers he carefully lifted the plastic horn. The ringing stopped immediately.

"_Hello!_" a voice sounded at the other end. "_Frigga? Are you there?_"

Loki looked at the little holes where the noise came out. He tried to remember how to hold the bloody thing. After some turning and lifting he finally managed to hold it right, but Loki still didn't keep it against his ear as if he was scared it would implode.

"Frigga is sleeping!" Loki said a little too loud. It stayed silent at the other end.

"_Loki?_" Jane finally said. Loki sighed.

"No this is Dumbledore speaking, you forgot your magical underwear on the Hogwarts express…" he said sarcastically.

"_What!?_" Jane shouted confused from the other end. Loki shook his head.

"Never mind… Frigga is sleeping!"

"_Sleeping…_" Jane asked suspiciously. The young king sighed once more.

"For God's sake! Why do you think I want to hurt her so badly?" he asked irritated.

"_Can't you wake her up…_" Jane immediately answered. Loki frowned surprised.

"What? What kind of mother are you!"

"_Well excuse me!_"

"I'm not going to wake her up!" Loki shouted.

"_But…_" Jane started. But Loki was quick to interrupt. He was getting kind tired of these people ideas. One moment she seemed to trust him, the other she didn't… Couldn't she just make up her mind!

_Women… _Loki thought.

"Do you honestly think I'm here because I want to be? Do you think I planned this?"

A short silence followed.

"_No…_" Jane answered silently.

"Exactly! All I want to do is getting away from here! Hurting anyone is not going to help!"

Again, it stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

"_But she's all right then? Frigga is fine…_"

"Yes!" Loki shouted in relief.

"_I'm still going to call back in about an hour…"_

"Fine.."

"_Will Frigga pick up the phone then?"_

"I don't know!" Loki answered with a sigh. "She did fall asleep in her bowl this morning…"

"_Right…_"

"Right!"

"_So…. I'll here you later then…_" Jane stuttered, trying to end the awkward conversation.

"I suppose…"

"_All right then… Bye Bye…_"

"Bye!"

Loki put the phone back and breathed out. At least he could continue reading now…

-xxx-

At the other end of Central park, Jane Foster touched the red button on her touchscreen.

_Well that was rather awkward… _she thought. She was still worried, though. But on the other hand, she just couldn't forget that talk Loki and she had had on the roof. Loki was right… he really didn't have any reason to hurt Frigga and any attempt on revenge wouldn't help his case…

The worried mother decided to leave it alone.. at least for one hour. She knew she had to focus, because she'd lost quite some time that morning, thanks to the speech Tony had giving all the latecomers…

-xxx-

Three awkward phone calls later, Frigga finally walked into the room, rubbing the remaining sleep out of her eyes. She yawned and looked at Loki. The young king was still lying on the cough, reading. At the looks of it, he would soon need the next book in the series.

Frigga silently cleared her throat to get the young king to notice her presence, but Loki just kept on reading. The little girl sighed and walked over to the cough. She kneeled next to Loki's face again and tried to make eye contact, but Loki's light grey eyes seemed to be glued to the pages.

"I'm hungry…" Frigga suddenly said as innocently as possible. Loki just kept ignoring her.

"I'm hungry…" Frigga repeated in the same tone. Still nothing…

Frigga sighed dramatically and took a deep breath to repeat it once more.

"I'm hun…"

"Poor you…" Loki interrupted without looking at the girl.

Frigga scowled. "You're supposed to make lunch! It's already past twelve!" she said slightly irritated.

"There's food in the fridge…" Loki answered dryly.

"You told mummy you could cook!" Frigga said with an angry expression on her face.

Loki slowly turned to the little girl and smiled. "It's not because I can cook, I actually will…"

Frigga got to her feet and crossed her arms. "I'll tell mummy!" she said pedanticly.

"Then Mrs. Lumiere will come back…"

Frigga opened her mouth to answer, but couldn't think of anything. Loki pulled up his eyebrows as if he wanted to say: "I win!"

"But I'm hungry!" Frigga repeated. Loki shook his head and fixed his attention on the book again.

Frigga muttered and stomped off to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and looked at the few shelves she could reach. Carrots, milk, eggs, whipped cream and some coke cans. She sighed loudly, making sure Loki would hear her.

"I'm gonna drink from the pack!" she shouted after realising Loki was still ignoring her. She took milk and closed the fridge with a dramatic wave. She held up the carton en opened it.

Loki smiled and whistled between his teeth. "Oh, my! Right from the carton…" he said sarcastically.

Frigga frowned once more and put the carton back. She knew she was losing the argument and she didn't like it. As an only child she was used to (almost always) get what she wanted. The little girl's shoulders dropped.

Loki made a clicking noise with his tongue before lowering the book and grinning towards the little girl.

"Unbelievable! When I was around your 'age' I could kill my own food if necessary…"

Frigga crossed her arms. "Well you had, at least, a hundred years before your reached 'my age'" Loki thought about that and nodded.

"Good point…" he said while swinging his long legs of the couch. With one fluent move he got to his feet and swiftly made his way to the kitchen.

"Move it, Midgardian!" he said playfully before opening the fridge again. Frigga took a step back and waited. It seemed Loki was overthinking the possibilities. His eyes shot from one potential ingredient to another. After some silent seconds, a small grin appeared on his face. The young king looked down at the little girl.

"You fancy pancakes?" he asked. Frigga's eyes lit up and her angry, annoyed expression faded away. She nodded fiercely. Loki smiled and started grabbing the right ingredients. Eggs, milk, butter… It took some time before he managed to find the flour. The God of Mischief looked at all the ingredients and sighed. It had been a while – like a really long while – since he'd last cooked his own meal… Especially by using prepared ingredients. After a swift glare at the nervous girl next to him he decided to take advantage of the girl's excitement. The young king put on his most innocent smile possible and asked: "Would you like to give me a hand, by any chance?"

If possible Frigga got even more excited. She was literally jumping up and down while her face started glowing.

"Great!" Loki said whit an overacted smile on his face. He turned around to take a couple of plastic bowls while Frigga climbed on the table.

Loki put the bowls in front of the girl. Frigga had already picked up the bag of flour.

"How much?" she asked. Loki pulled up his eyebrows. He didn't really know.

"Just pour some into the bowl…" he instructed. "I'll say stop!"

Frigga put the tip of her tongue between her lips while trying to pour – most of – the flour into the bowl. She messed up brilliantly, but after she'd managed to pour at least half of the flour into the bowl, Loki finally said: "Enough!"

Frigga breathed out and put down the bag. She looked over her work. Most of the normally black kitchen table had turned white. While biting her lip nervously she looked up at Loki, waiting for him to get angry, but the God of Mischief just looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Oops…" he said dryly. Frigga smiled. Afterwards the young king took out one of the eggs and held it in front of Frigga's eyes. The little girl shook her head.

"I can't!" she said sadly. "I probably break it the wrong way."

Loki tilted his head to the side and pulled up his eyebrows once more.

"Did you ever try?" he asked. Frigga slowly shook her head.

"But when mummy.." she started but Loki's gaze made her shut up.

"How will you know you can't do it, if you don't try?" he said with a smile while forcing Frigga to take the egg. The little girl cautiously took the fragile object in her hands and looked at it, not really knowing what to do next. Loki gestured to the bowl.

"But what if there get some pieces of the shell in the batter?" she asked in high pitched voice.

"Not your problem!" Loki simply answered before gesturing to the bowl again.

Frigga frowned a confident frown and held the egg above the bowl. She took a deep breath and crushed it her hand. White and yellow slime squirted out of her palms and dripped of her fingers. Frigga squeaked when the cold slime found its way down her arm and Loki started laughing. At the moment he was actually having fun.

Frigga quickly moved her hands away from the bowl, but the damage had been done. The white flour was covered with pieces of shell, drained in yellowish slime.

"All right… I think you already noticed," Loki started with an smile, "but that is not the way to break an egg!"

Frigga scowled and suppressed the desire to wave her hands in Loki's direction. She crawled over to the sink, covering her trousers and sticky hands in white flour. She angrily washed her hands and tried to keep the tears out of her eyes. She just hated it when people laughed at her…

Loki cleared his throat to stopped laughing. He knew better then no other that it wasn't funny when people made fun of you. Thor had found his mistakes and gaffes really _let's-laugh-with-your-brother-material. _

"Wanna see something cool?" he asked when he realised Frigga didn't look at him on purpose, fully aware of the use of her "Cool" – vocabulary. The little girl looked around with big red eyes, not able to hide her curiosity.

Loki held up another egg and smiled mysteriously. Then he let go of the egg, but it kept floating in the air. The young king pulled up his eyebrows as if he was waiting for an applause. Frigga's eyes grew big, forgetting what just had happened. She looked from Loki to the egg and back, waiting for more magic. Loki concentrated back on the egg. From one second to the other the shell was covered in little cracks, filling the kitchen with a crackling noise. Slowly the shell loosened and floated away from the egg. Loki held another bowl under the egg and caught the pieces, after which he made a small movement with his hand and the other pieces, which were spread across the flour, joined the others in the bowl.

Frigga made a high pitched noise of excitement. Loki looked at her and smirked. He quite enjoyed the little girls admiration. On Asgard, and especially Thor, nobody really looked up to sorcerers and witches. Through the years their numbers slowly declined and until some years ago, Loki and Frigga were two of the few magicians left.

Frigga eyes grew so big they almost fell out. She looked at the weird yellowish thing floating in her kitchen. She looked at Loki and with one nod of his head, the young king made the egg drop into the bowl.

The next seconds Loki entertained Frigga by doing the same to the remaining eggs. The little girl couldn't believe her luck. This was way better than watching _SpongeBob Squarepants _all day!

Afterwards Loki added the milk by making the carton fly through the kitchen, spilling bits of milk everywhere which stayed floating in the air as if they were in space. Frigga playfully snapped the drops from the air with her mouth or let them circle around her hands and fingers.

After a while Loki handed Frigga a whisk and the girl started stirring the mixture as fast as she could. It was quite a big bowl, but because they had a lot of batter, bit of the batter dropped over the sides. Frigga didn't really care, she couldn't get the kitchen table any messier. In the meantime Loki tried to think of a way to bake the pancakes. On Asgard they always used a special peace of stone. At least the normal cooks did… Loki had his own way of baking… The young king turned around again. He was quite sure that people had their own way of baking, but he really didn't feel like trying to work out how exactly.

"Look.." Loki started to get Frigga's attention. The little girl looked up from the bowl and brushed some golden locks away from her face, covering her cheeks in flour.

"I've been using way to much magic already… but if you promise not to tell your parents, I can do some more…"

Loki didn't mean what he said. What did he care of what Thor knew… but he just loved the attention he got from the girl.

Frigga nodded eagerly and smiled. She showed Loki the batter. The young king clicked with his tongue and looked up at the Frigga's face and bit his lip.

"You'll have to stir much harder, otherwise you get clots…"

Frigga looked said at the batter. She'd been stirring as never before, but when she looked at her work she had to admit it was still full of clots. She looked back at Loki as if she wanted to ask if he couldn't do it, but the young king shook his head.

"Don't tell me you can't…" he said faking his anger. Frigga frowned. She bit her lip, pulled up her sleeves – which only resulted in more flour on her clothes – took the bowl in one hand and started stirring again with the other.

"Faster! Much faster!" Loki playfully shouted. Frigga started to get out of breath and her arms were hurting like hell, but she didn't stop. Not this time! The longer she stirred, the less clots were visible. After what seemed ages, the batter finally looked perfect. Frigga stopped stirring and dropped the spoon hard on the table. Bits of batter spread across the kitchen, but she didn't care. Frigga had never been so proud of herself. She looked at Loki, knowing she didn't have to expect him to tell her he was proud of her, but the smile playing on his lips said enough. The young king raised his eyebrows and said: "Told you…"

Frigga smiled. She was still out of breath and had the feeling she never would stop smiling. Loki took the batter and put it next to a big plate he'd just taken.

"Watch and learn…" he said with a smile. Frigga nodded, knowing some magic was coming. Loki made a small movement with his fingers. A little bit of the batter floated from the bowl. While Loki kept making small gestures with his hands and fingers the batter spread and formed a floating circle in the air which made Frigga think of a special kind of fish she'd seen on a school trip to the New York Aquarium. When the mixture had spread Loki focused hard on the floating batter. Slowly it started bubbling and hissing. Frigga couldn't believe her eyes while the batter steadily turned into a – great smelling – pancake.

Loki baked one pancake after the other and the pile on the plate became bigger and bigger and every time Frigga watched Loki's every move. She just didn't want to miss one second. Ten minutes later. Both Loki and Frigga were staring at the pile of pancakes on the kitchen table. They were both thinking the same thing: "_That's a lot of pancakes…_"

After a couple of seconds Loki clapped his hands and sighed. Using all that magic had tired him a little. A result of the lack of practise. One look on the kitchen table made him decided to take the pancakes, two plates and to sit on the small balcony. Frigga took the sugar, syrup, whipped cream and everything else she liked on her pancake and followed. She sat down next to Loki. After some hesitation she let her feet dangle over the edge too, just as the young king was doing. She knew her mother hated this, but Frigga just loved heights. Besides, there was a barrier right above her legs to keep her from falling as if the architect had thought: "Hey, let's build a barrier in case a little girl and a God want to eat pancakes on the balcony."

Loki put the plate in between him and Frigga and handed his niece a plate. Frigga reached for the top pancake and put it on her plate. She took some sugar and poured way to much over the pancake before taking a bite. When the food touched her tongue she couldn't do anything but be overly impressed. She'd been really hungry and she knew that when she was hungry, food always tasted ten times better. But this just beat everything else. Loki smiled when he saw the satisfying glare in Frigga's eyes and took a pancake himself. It took some time before he had made a choice what to put on it, but after Frigga's advice he decided to take the sugar too. For the following ten minutes both of them just sat on the balcony in silence, feet dangling over the edge, consuming one pancake after the other. For some reason the pile didn't seem to get any smaller.

-xxx-

Loki sighed. He. Was. Full! Frigga answered by sighing twice as loud. She looked at the pile next to her and sighed again.

"Crap…" Loki muttered. Frigga looked up and the young king continued. "Now Thor's going to see I actually cooked…"

Frigga frowned. "Is that a problem?"she asked while putting her plate aside. She rubbed her tummy.

Loki looked at the girl and thought about an answers. He understood how childish it must have sounded, but for some reason he didn't want Thor to think he was starting to like his daughter.

"Why did you make so many then?" Frigga asked when she realised Loki wasn't going to answer.

"Usually I had took cook for six and sometimes seven if my mother decided to join us. Believe me, the worriers three, especially Volstagg, can eat! And even though you wouldn't say it, Sif could eat for two… And don't get me started about Thor…" Loki finished not able to hide his disgust over his former friends and brother. Frigga noticed it, but didn't react.

"Well, now we'll have pancakes for dessert and breakfast! Maybe I can even take some to school…"

Loki couldn't help to smile. Both of them stayed silent for another couple of minutes, staring over New York, trying not to think of the potential _throw-up-risk_…. Suddenly Frigga sprang to her feet and ran into the house. Loki frowned and watched her disappear to her room. Ten seconds later, Frigga was back again, holding a red binder in her hands. Her bright blue eyes watched Loki as if she was hesitating to ask him something.

"Would you like to help me with my homework?" she finally asked cautiously. Loki's eyebrows shot into the air.

"Homework? You're five!" he said rather rudely. Frigga scowled.

"Almost six!" she answered after which she sat down again and opened the binder. The first page Loki saw showed a picture of a weird man with a funny hat, a green coat and a smoking pipe between his lips. In his hand he held a magnifying glass which made his right eye look extremely out off proportion. Frigga explained while turning the pages one by one.

"That's Sherlock Holmes. He's a detective. He British and he's cool! Together with his friend, Doctor Watson, he solves all kind of crazy, dangerous cases. We just started and Mrs. Jackson, my teacher gave us a little task…" Frigga stopped talking. She'd reached the last page on which Loki could see numerous little squares. Most of them were already filled with what the young king recognized as fingerprints. On top of the page, in big letters, he read

**Sherlock Holmes: be a detective  
****Unique Fingers**

Underneath he saw ten little squares filled with small, black fingerprints. Above the first square Loki read

_Frigga Foster_

written in funny, pointy letters of a girl who only just learned how to right her own name. Under Frigga's fingersprints there was a new title

**My Family**

it said, followed by a few other rows of squares. Next to the first row of ridiculously fat fingers Frigga had written

_Daddy_

The next one, with more elegant, skinny fingers prints had

_Mummy_

next to it.  
The rest of the page was filled with names like

_Erik, Bruce, Darcy _and_ Ian _(those last two were only pictures of fingerprints. Loki supposed that that was because Darcy and Ian were in London.)

About five rows were still empty. Frigga looked up at Loki, her eyes full of hope, excitement and cuteness.

"Would you like to put yours underneath?" she asked as nonchalant as possible, but Loki could hear the desperation in her voice. He looked back at the page and realised that the only reason that Eric, Bruce, Darcy and Ian where there too, was because, next to her parents, Frigga didn't really have any other family. She probably didn't want to look too different in front of her classmates and teacher. A weird kind of feeling struck the young kings heart when he another thought came to his mind. Frigga saw him as family! He looked back at the girl, not really knowing what to answer…

Frigga smiled her beautiful smile.

"You are my uncle after all…" she said just before taking a pink princess pencil out of her pocket and writing in beautiful letters

_Uncle_

next to the next row.

* * *

Cute... ;)

I know, not a lot of stuff happened, but I promise some action in the next chapters ;) Right now I need to focus on Loki's relation ships with the Fosters :)

I hope you liked it! One week of exams to go :(

Wish me luck! I'll try uploading as soon as possible :)

Please review!

x


	15. Chapter 14

**Hi there! Guess what... EXAMS ARE FINITOOOOO! PARTY! **

**Anyway... enjoy ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 14**_

Even though Jane had called about an hour before, she still couldn't put aside the nervous and worrying feelings which grew stronger with every step she got closer to the apartment. While trying to stop her hands from shaking, Jane searched for her keys. Trembling she put them into the keyhole and bust open the door. Without closing the door she ran into the house.

"Frigga!" she called out. "I'm home sweetie…" Jane's words faded away when her eyes scanned the living room and she could only find Loki on the couch, reading. The young king slowly lowered the book and threw a questioning look on Jane. The worried mother felt her cheeks getting hot. She tried to say something to brake the tension, but Loki's usual sarcasm saved the day.

"Let's not rush, shall we…" the young king said with a smirk before fixing his attention back on the pages. Jane swallowed and was about to ask where Frigga was, when her daughter busted into the room.

"Mummy!" she cried out happily while throwing her arms around Jane's waist.

Behind his book, Loki's lips followed Frigga's words with a disgusted pair of eyes above them.

Jane finally let go of the breath she'd been holding. She wanted to hug her daughter back, being more relieved than ever, but Frigga didn't give her a chance. The little girl grabbed her mother's hand and dragged her to the kitchen.

"Mummy! Mummy! Loki made pancakes! We'll have enough for the whole week! Are we gonna have some for dessert tonight? Please! Please!" Frigga pleaded overenthusiastically, but Jane didn't really notice. She'd just been thrown from one surprise into the other. Her eyes found the six plates of deliciously looking pancakes, covered in cling film, standing in the fridge.

Again Jane seemed to change into a fish. Her mouth opened and closed in disbelief. She kept staring at the pancakes even when Frigga'd already closed the door. After some seconds, Jane noticed that even her daughter had turned quiet. She turned around and found Frigga starring at her with a worried look in her eyes. Jane quickly smiled, but it wasn't really convincing. Jane looked over to Loki and expected him to look up, but the young king just ignored her. She didn't know what to say!

Footsteps sounded from the hall. A cautious Thor appeared in the living room. He looked at Loki, decided that his brother was ignoring him and looked at his wife and daughter in the kitchen. Jane had never seem so relieved, surprised and wordless.

"Jane?" Thor asked. "Everything all right? Is there a reason why the door is standing open?"

Jane opened and closed her mouth again like a new born fish, but finally decided to just shake her head. She smiled and cleared her throat.

"No.. No.. I just… never mind…" she stuttered.

Thor slowly nodded. He walked back into the hall and closed the door. Afterwards he walked in again, throwing a questioning look from his wife to his brother, who kept ignoring everyone, but it was Frigga who answered.

"Daddy! You never guess! Loki made pancakes!" she shouted enthusiastically while running towards the fridge and picking up one of the plates so she could show it to Thor. The God of Thunder smiled.

"I remember those…" he said with a smile while picking up a pillow and throwing it hard into Loki's face. The young king dropped the book – _Chapter Seventeen: The Man with Two Faces _– in surprise when the fabric hit his face and looked up.

Thor grinned. "I'm giving you a compliment, brother, you should listen. Otherwise you give that crap about me "tossing you into an abyss"." he continued sarcastically. Loki scowled and picked up the book again.

"I don't really think that's a compliment…" he said while searching for the page he'd been reading.

"I said: I remember those…" Thor repeated.

"Exactly!" Loki said. "Because you ate a million of them.. including mine…"

"Only because I wouldn't dare to take Sif's…" Thor answered with a smile.

"Ow… Not really a compliment either…" Loki responded sarcastically. Thor suppressed the urge to throw another pillow. Completely without reason, a sudden thought crossed his mind: throwing pillows at Loki had become some kind of habit and normality ever since their childhood.

"Just playing!" Thor said thinking of the afternoons they'd spent eating pancakes.

"Right, _let's-see-how-many-pancakes-fit-in-my-mouth_ is a marvellous game…" Loki added in the same tone as before. "Especially when the '_mouth'_ turns into '_stomach_"'

Thor bit his lip and looked up at Jane who threw him disapproving glare. She was slowly getting over the first surprise.

"Really, Thor…" Loki continued, only to make it worse, "You're bloody disgusting…."

Frigga giggled and even Jane couldn't keep a smile of her face. Thor cleared his throat.

"Can I take one of those?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Loki looked up and frowned.

"What if I would say: no?"

"Then I would ignore you!"

Loki smiled and focused back on the book. "Great, then I say: NO!"

Thor shook his head and sighed while walking into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and was ready to take a pancake when Jane suddenly closed the door with another disapproving look on her face. This time, though, Thor could see she wasn't completely serious.

"Ah ah… first dinner!" Jane said with fake anger.

"But…"

"No! You are not going to be a bad example for Frigga!" Jane continued. Thor scowled and looked at Frigga.

"Almost…" he mouthed. Frigga giggled again.

-xxx-

Loki sighed. He was bored. He'd finished his book just before dinner and was now starring at the ceiling of his already dark room. As always, he couldn't sleep. Images of the day floated through his head like leaves on a silent river, passing across his eyes for a second, only to disappear in the stream again. The young king smiled slightly when he thought of Frigga's admiration for his magic. And then there was that moment on the balcony…

"_You are my uncle, after all!_" she had said. Loki closed his eyes and groaned. As much as he wanted to believe the girl, he knew it wasn't true. It would never be true! He'd given up on family a long time ago. He could make it on his own!

But he had given his fingerprints to the little girl, if only to see that brilliant smile on her face. For a while now, not many people had been smiling in Loki's presence and even though the young king would never admit it, he really didn't feel quite comfortable about that. Not that he cared about what those people were feeling. If they wanted to hate him, then that was their problem. Loki wasn't going to waste time on them…  
But being the God of Mischief meant making jokes, turning a sad face into a smile again. And sometimes his pranks went too far, but he was always there to solve it again. Now, he was no longer the God of Mischief… now he was the bad guy, the Devil. (Loki was quite sure that the idea of the Devil was partly based on him). Except that little girl… only Frigga wasn't scared of him..(and Thor of course, but seriously, F*CK Thor).

Loki bit his lip and frowned. Did he think of Frigga as family? As his niece? No.. of course not! Or did he? Yes… No… Yes… No… Maybe?

Loki rubbed his temples and groaned. He was way too tired for all this. He just wanted to fall asleep! But then the nightmares would return!

Loki turned to his side and grabbed the _Harry Potter_ book from the small nightstand and turned to his favourite part: _Chapter Twelve: The Mirror of Erised. _While he silently read the chapter, he thought about how much he wanted to look at that mirror.

_What would I see? _He wondered. _The throne of Asgard? Frigga, my mother? Thor dead? Odin dead? Or just my bloody pancakes?_

Loki quite detested this _Dumbledore _character.

_You fool! _The young king thought. _You don't know what it's like to have no real family!"_

Suddenly Loki realised that this Mirror of Erised was very much alike The Tesseract. It gave you exactly what you wanted most in the world and drove you mad in the end. Loki swallowed and closed his eyes to make the upcoming memories of the Tesseract disappear. Flashes of blue light, the sound of his heart beating fast and out of rhythm, his breath uncontrollably wild, his own creepy, crazy laugh that haunted his dreams until this day…

Loki put aside the book. At least this mirror wasn't capable of mass murder on its own…

The young king took a deep breath and forced the fear clinging onto his heart to fade away. He turned his back to the nightstand and the book and closed his tired eyes.

-xxx-

The next day, Frigga begged her parents if they could go to the library again. She'd noticed that Loki had finished his book.

Loki on the other hand asked if he could stay home. Not that he didn't want to go the library, he just didn't want to be around Frigga to much. He was still not quite sure what to think of the events of the day before. Obviously, Thor and Jane refused to let him stay behind on his own, so Loki went along anyway, pissed off by the lack of trust they were showing towards him.

Frigga , who noticed Loki's antisocial behaviour, tried her best not to annoy him, but it wasn't easy. She was still so excited about yesterday! And she already had to force herself not to talk about the magic Loki had used. Every now and then she glanced over at The God of Mischief, which only irritated the young king more.

Loki was almost relieved when they reached the library. Frigga disappeared to the children section after winking rather unsubtle with both eyes – she couldn't do it with one eye – at Loki to tell him she would get him his book.

Loki sighed and ran off to a random section before Thor got the chance to ask him what was going on. The young king found himself wondering around the library without paying any attention at the books surrounding him until he found himself lost in the _expecting and young mothers _section. Loki sighed and quickly made his way to the next section which wasn't that much better: _knitting and crochet _section. Loki groaned and looked around in order to find the least shameful way to leave this place, when he heard voices from the other side of the shelves in front of him. He recognised the voices… Jane and Thor were talking quick and were almost whispering, but Loki could still understand what they were saying. The young king cautiously shove some books about knitting 'modern' sweaters and ugly teddy bears aside and looked at the couple. He made himself look invisible in case Jane or Thor would notice the two staring eyes just above the shelf.

"…so what am I supposed to think? Thor? I'm sorry, but Loki has given me every reason not to trust him! And now he's doing exactly what you always warned me for: being the nice guy!"

"Jane, I understand, but … I… I'm not asking you to trust him. I don't either… Not entirely anyway.. but it seems to me that Loki has changed… back into the person he was before… at least a little bit."

"But what if that's exactly what he wants you to believe! What if he'd playing tricks on all of us? Don't get me wrong, honey, I want to believe with all my heart he's what he seems…."

"Sweetheart… I think…" Thor stayed silent for some time, overthinking his words. "This is not Loki's style…" he finally said hesitatingly. "I mean, of course he could do a thing like this, but it isn't like Loki to make it last that long. His deception mostly lasts for a few seconds, minutes at most a day, but not weeks."

Jane turned silent. She bid her lip while trying to make up her mind.  
"So what are we going to do then? Let him go back? You'll only be worried every second of the day. You'll follow him and you now I can't come with you. Frigga has to grow up here! We agreed on that!."

Thor frowned sadly. "You know Frigga won't like that… She's grown fond of Loki and Asgard…She wants to meet Sif, she wants to see magic…"

Jane shook her head. "Thor! I thought we agreed we wouldn't bring her up with the dangers you went through! You had hundreds of years to adjust yourself to those dangers. Frigga, probably, has at most twelve years! What is it that your saying now!"

Thor rubbed his temples. "I don't know, all right! I'm just saying what I'm seeing! There's no denying it!"

"I just think you want to go home!" Jane said more rudely than she intended.

"Yes!" Thor almost shouted. "Is that so wrong!"

Jane was surprised by Thor's hard reaction. "No, but…" she tried, but she had nothing to say.

"Look, Jane, I miss Asgard. I miss the other realms, I miss Lady Sif and The Worriers Three, but that's not even the problem. The problem really is that I have no idea about what Loki did to my father. He most likely killed him. If that's the case, I just need to visit home. Loki hasn't talked about my friends during his time here, so I don't know what happened to them either. I need to see if Asgard is safe! It's my duty as a prince of Asgard. And…" Thor's words faded away.

Jane was crying, even though she didn't want to. She hated fighting and right now she saw that Thor was having trouble telling her the whole truth. The reason why he wanted to go back… She took Thor's face in her hands – Loki almost puked – and forced him to look at her.

"What? What is it?" she asked in a broken whisper. Thor hesitated.

"One of the main reasons why I left and promised you not to go back was because of Loki's death…"

Jane frowned. Thor continued. "The first time I thought Loki death, I mourned for months. After hundreds of years it's hard to say goodbye to someone who spend his life at your side, saved your life, fought alongside you... I never really accused him of anything, never hated him for what he did, because I understood why and it was partly my fault. Loki's blood was on my hands too. I hated to walk around the rooms where we'd spend time together. I hated to practise fighting when Loki wasn't there to tell me I looked like an idiot when I was waving around Mjölnir. I wanted to leave, but I couldn't, because the Bifröst was gone. Only when Heimdall suddenly saw Loki again, my father was prepared to use Dark Energy to get me on Earth."

Thor took a deep breath and softly touched Jane's face to wipe of the tears.  
"The second time Loki died, again because of me, I knew that mourning would hurt more than ever before. When I got back to Asgard I just couldn't think of living there anymore without Loki and my mother, let alone being king. But now… Loki's alive, Jane… And it doesn't matter how much I hate him, we both belong on Asgard…"

Loki didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He backed against the opposite row while the stinging, burning feeling of guilt took over his heart again. This time, though, he let it go it's way. God, it hurt!

As silently as possible, he made his way back through the rows of endless shelves. When he was sure no one was watching, he changed his appearance into that of 'Tony' again. Loki walked from section to section, thinking over what would happen now. Would they send him back? Would they follow? And if they did… he would have a new problem, because Sif and the Worriers Three were still locked away, thinking it was Odin who was keeping them there.

When Loki reached the exit, he forced himself to look like his usual self: bored and uninterested. He spotted Frigga with her mother, waiting to take the books with them. Frigga saw him and – again really subtle – showed him her pile of books. Loki could see she had two big books. How many parts did this series contain?

Loki walked over to where Thor was standing and noticed how The God of Thunder quickly tried to look casual.

_Amateur… _he thought.

-xxx-

When they got home Frigga used her _James Bond_ moves once more to deliver Loki his books: _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets _and _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban._

Loki groaned while thinking of what Thor had said. He was right though, Frigga wouldn't like it…

The young king locked himself inside his room and started reading while Frigga watched that traumatic show about a talking Sponge and a money obsessed red lobster. Before Loki realised it, it was already dinnertime, which the young king skipped. He just lay down on his bed. When he got enough of reading he just stared a little more at the ceiling while the night fell over the city. He heard Frigga enter her room. He heard Jane say: "Sweet dreams sweetie! Nighty-night!"

Jane closed the door of Frigga's room and Loki could hear the familiar click of Frigga's flashlight switching on. The young king closed his eyes, until Jane suddenly opened his door. Loki pulled up his eyebrows and expected Jane to be all blushing and stuttering, but she watched Loki with the most serious look on her face he'd ever seen.

"Could you come to the living room for a second?" she asked. "We need to talk…"

Loki got up. Were they going to tell him they would let him go back? So soon?"

The young king followed Jane. Thor was sitting in the couch, watching some boring detective series when they entered the room. The God of Thunder switched of the television and waited for Loki to sit down, but the young king just kept standing so Thor didn't bother.

"Tomorrow, Frigga has to go to school again. She going on a little school excursion. I would want you to come with me to work."

Loki pulled up his eyebrows in disbelief.

"What! I thought you didn't want to.." Loki started, but Thor cut him off.

"Honestly, we trust you enough to get out of the house…"

Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was he serious! Did he honestly think that letting him come along was any kind of reward!

"Why can't you leave me here!" he said angrily. "Do you still think I'm going to burn down your house!"

Thor closed his eyes. He was tired and wanted to go to sleep. "Loki, please, just accept that you're coming with me. End of discussion!"

Loki wanted to start yelling at Thor, but he understood that that wouldn't get him anywhere, so he just turned around and disappeared back into his room.

The young king slammed the door behind him and waited for the expected tantrum, but nothing happened. Loki sighed and dropped on the bed.

_Foul! _he thought. _ Did you really think they would let you go back!_

Again Loki couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about everything and more. Right now, his busy, boring life on Asgard seemed perfect! Oh what he would give to just go back! Somewhere around four in the morning the young king finally managed to fall sink into an uneasy sleep…

Only to be woken up by Jane's hard knock on the door. Loki groaned. If he wouldn't have felt so bad, he would have busted out the door with one move, just to make sure nobody could ever knock on it again.

Jane cautiously looked inside the room.

"I'm sorry, but we have to leave within fifteen minutes…" she said softly. Loki groaned a response.

Jane hesitated. "Please, Loki…" she added when she noticed Loki didn't move. "Please, don't get Thor angry… he has such a morning temper…"

Loki smirked. "You don't say…" he said sarcastically. Jane sighed and smiled.

"Breakfast is still on the table…" she said before leaving the room.

Loki groaned and swung his feet off the bed. With his eyes still half closed he stomped off to the kitchen. There he was welcomed by a hyper active Frigga. The little girl called: "Good morning!" and ran off to her room to do something she'd already done five times that morning. Loki sighed and yawned. After a glare on the food on the table, he decided to just take an apple. The young king dropped on the couch. While he desperately tried to block out Frigga's enthusiasm.

Twenty minutes later Loki found himself on the backseat of the car. He'd managed to take the sequel of Harry Potter with him. Next to him, Frigga never seemed to shut up. Apparently she was talking about the excursion. She would go to another part of New York city to work on the subject of that Sherlock Holmes feller. It was only a short bus ride, but Frigga seemed overexcited.

First, Thor parked in front in Stark Tower. After some kissing and goodbyes en "have-funs" Jane finally left the car and entered the building. The next stop was on a big parking lot. A little bit further, Loki saw two yellow school busses surrounded by even more annoyingly exited little children and their desperate parents. Frigga suddenly turned silent. Loki looked over to the girl and saw she was staring at the kids and their parents. A sudden sad and slightly jealous look covered her face. Loki wondered what the problem was, until he saw Thor staring at the families too after which he threw a sorrowful glare at his daughter.

"Frigga…" the God of Thunder started. But Frigga shook her head and put her hand on the door handle. Loki raised his eyebrows. He was starting to understand what was going on. He looked over at Thor in surprise.

"Seriously brother? You're scared to show your famous, ugly face in front on some simple Midgardians?"

Thor scowled. "You don't understand…" he tried to explain, but Loki shut him up. The young king shook his head.

"Puny God…" he said in disbelief. Thor opened his mouth to respond, but the painful expression on Frigga's face made him change his mind. Thor sighed and threw another look on the parents standing around the busses, hugging and kissing their kids.

"All right then…" Thor muttered before opening the door to get out of the car. Loki grinned at Frigga, who's eyes had lit up instantly. The little girl immediately opened the door and sprang out of the car. Loki followed, changing his appearance while he did. Thor was going to make a remark about it, but decided to just shut up. He cautiously followed his daughter. A little away from the other parents, the three of them stopped. Frigga was even more excited and happy then she'd been the entire morning.

Suddenly a whistle sounded behind them. Loki looked and saw a stern yet kind looking women waving at the kids while yelling they had to enter the bus. Frigga's teacher, Loki supposed. Frigga turned to her dad and hugged him.

"Thank you Daddy!" she squealed in his shirt. Thor hugged his daughter back.

"You have to hurry!" he said kindly. "You'll leave soon!"

Frigga let go of her father, smiled and turned around.

"Have fun!" Thor shouted while Frigga frisked away from them. Halfway she suddenly stopped and turned around again. After a second of hesitation, she ran back to Thor and Loki. Before the young king could do anything, the little girl had thrown her arms around his waist and hugged him shortly. Loki froze and almost forgot to keep up the illusion of Tony. Thor's eyes grew big while he watched his daughter letting go of his brother, smiling again, saying: "Bye bye, Loki!" and running of to her impatient teacher.

The moment Frigga had entered the bus, the doors closed and both busses took off. Frigga quickly sat down on the last row and pushed her nose against the window. She smiled and waved until she couldn't see both men anymore. The waving parents slowly got back into their cars and left, but Thor and Loki just stood there next to each other. Frozen… not able to move. After a couple of seconds Thor cleared his throat.

"Well… that was rather…"

"Unexpected…" Loki finished the sentence.

"Yeah…"

Both brothers looked at each other and pulled up their shoulders at the same time. They turned around an walked back to the car. They'd never needed many words to understand each other…

-xxx-

"You just keep yourself busy while I'm working!" Thor said while he opened the door of what was called a tourist agency. Loki was too busy with trying to believe the idea that Thor worked in a bloody travel office. A travel office!

"Sure…" Loki said after realising Thor was waiting for an answer. They entered the building. Thor closed the door and immediately walked over to the desk which served as the reception. He opened a drawer and dropped the keys into it. Afterwards he pressed some buttons on a little touchscreen against the wall and pressed the bigger red button next to it. Immediately the shutters before the windows rolled up, allowing the morning sun to fall through the glass. Because of the light, Loki could see the rest of the room. The walls were ridiculously white, but most of them were covered with posters of the most sunny and snowy travel destinations in existence, the one looking faker than the other. The ceiling was light blue and white clouds, accompanied by birds and a sun were painted over the blue. Against one wall, Loki saw three identical desks with computers on top of them. Next to the door and next to each desk there was a pile of different travel catalogues. On the wall behind the desks there were even more folders to be found. On the other side of the room, next to the windows, there was a small play corner with dolls, books, magazines and toy bricks, right next to an couple of comfortable looking red sofas and chairs. In the back of the shop there was a door which probably led to the stock of boring travel folders…

Loki made his way to the closest couch and made himself comfortable. Thor, who was putting aside some papers about Frigga's excursion he still had in his pockets, threw him a warning glare.

"No monkey business! " he said while switching on the computer. Loki looked up and smiled innocently.

"As ever…" he said. The young king opened _Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets_ and started reading again: _Chapter Four: At Flourish and Blotts._

An so the day went on. Thor set in his chair the first hour. Afterwards he decided to play a game of Solitaire on his computer. He had to wait until half past ten before the first customers arrived. It was a young, annoyingly in love, couple who giggled and told each other how much they loved each other every two words. They wanted to arrange their honeymoon to Venice, Italy. But before letting go of that information they told Thor their entire love story.

As it turned out, they'd met only two days ago, on a party. The next day the guy, who called himself Louis even though he wasn't French, had introduced his new girlfriend to his parents. The following day the happy couple had met the girl's, Tanya's, parents. That same night they'd made out and exactly on midnight, Louis had proposed Tanya by singing Bruno Mars's _Marry You_. They'd asked their parents for their blessing, but they refused, since the happy couple had woken them up at three in the morning, after which Tanya had suggested to marry in Las Vegas, after which Louis had promised to take her to Venice.

The whole time Thor had listened with the most fake smile possible frozen on his face. He didn't even mind when Loki silently groaned and started hitting himself with his book. When they'd reached the part about the proposal Loki had already rolled behind his sofa in an attempt to block out the ongoing poppycock.

In the end the couple finally understood that they couldn't effort a journey to the other side of the ocean after which the Tanya started crying and shouting and Louis screamed he wanted his ring back. When Tanya had slapped her now ex-fiancée across the face and dramatically had slammed the door behind her and Louis cursed all women in the world and left too, the silence finally filled the room. Thor sighed in relief and dropped his head on the table. Loki cautiously came from behind the sofa.

"And I thought bilgesnipe were creepy…" Loki said with a smile. Thor groaned his answer an lifted his head.

"Learned the truth a long time ago…" he said sarcastically.

During the next hours two more customers arrived. One women who wanted a last minute ticket to Mexico city. And a couple of students, who were obviously skipping some lessons, asking if they could use the toilet.

Around half past one, Jane suddenly appeared, waving with a bag of donuts. Thor sighed with relief and kissed his wife, ignoring Loki's disgusted scowl. Both of them sat down in the two remaining couches. Jane tried to give Loki a donut, but the young king just kept on reading. Jane looked at the cover in surprise.

"Are you reading Harry Potter?" she asked before she could stop herself. Loki sighed.

"Yes… About time you noticed… This is already the second book!"

Jane looked at Thor. Her husband was clearly sharing her surprise. He'd noticed that Loki had been reading a lot lately, but Loki was always reading so he didn't really pay attention to it.

"You are reading Midgardian fiction…" the God of Thunder asked. Loki put down the book and sighed.

"Yes… is that surprising?" he asked.

"Well…" Thor started. " I thought that out of all books… you wouldn't chose something about… Midgardian wizards…"

"I don't see it that way…" Loki answered irritated. "I'm quite sure these are all original Asgardians! Like Merlin! They refer to him more than once."

Jane almost choked on her donut. She coughed and looked at Loki in surprise.

"You know about Merlin?" she asked. This time Loki and Thor looked at Jane with an questioning expression on their faces. Jane didn't really understand their reaction.

"Merlin is a legend. A myth. The legend of King Arthur… The Knights of the Round Table? Lancelot.. Guinevere… Morgana… " she tried.

Loki and Thor just staired at Jane for a moment until Loki started to understand.

"You think… " he asked cautiously. "You think that Merlin… was Midgardian…"

Now it was Jane's turn to be surprised. She looked at Thor. The God of Thunder was starting to understand the situation.

"Yes of course…" Jane answered after a couple of seconds. "The legend of King Arthur is from Earth… right?"

Loki smiled in disbelief. "Well yes… but that doesn't matter! That Arthur character was a big doucheback! I can't believe this! Do people actually think Merlin was a Midgardian?"

That last question was for Thor. The God of Thunder rubbed his temples.

"Yes…" he answered. "People make stories, Loki… Legends… we are legends too!"

"But Merlin!"

"Yes Loki! Also Merlin!"

Loki shook his head in disbelief. Jane on the other hand was getting enough of this mystery talk she couldn't follow.

"Can somebody tell me what I'm missing!" she shouted. She really hated it when people knew something she didn't.

Loki looked over at Jane as if he'd just noticed she had arrived.

"Merlin. Was. Never. A. Midgardian." He said clearly.

"You mean…" Jane hesitated. "Merlin… The Merlin was Asgardian…"

Loki lifted his hands above his head. "How do you think he was capable of using magic! Probably every sorcerer or witch you ever heard of was Asgardian!"

Jane didn't understand. So Thor continued.

"A long time ago it wasn't unusual for an Asgardian to come to Earth. Earth was the only one of the nine realms that didn't know of our existence. Like Loki said are most of the wizard and witches in human history actual Asgardians. To become a sorcerer or a witch you had to pass some tests. The last one was mostly done on Earth, on Midgard. You were supposed to help people with your magic. But then the dark times started and the Midgardians got scared of the magic they didn't possess or could control. The witch hunting started. Some died, others fled. Now, there're almost no sorcerers left, not on Asgard, not on Midgard."

"And what has Merlin to do with this?" Jane asked. "Did he come down? Or was Arthur also Asgardian?"

Thor shook his head. "Merlin was one of the strongest sorcerers, even on Asgard! He was also really into helping others, especially Midgardians. He was one of the best men that ever lived. The story of King Arthur is only one of the many we know… Merlin came down, helped Arthur get the throne and afterwards he left again."

"And what about Morgana? She had magic too, according the legend…"

"Morgana is what you would call a really talented magician. Her magic wasn't real, but was supposed to look real."

Jane watched Thor for a moment. "So you mean to say… that… those legends are true… those people actually existed!"

Thor pulled up his shoulders and took a bite from his donut. "Most of the human legends are made up. Most of the time, a part is real, but that part is so small that the actual story is lost. Other legends did happen, like King Arthurs, but even that one looks better than it actually was. People tend to make their stories in such a way that, after a while, their common sense tells them that it just can't be true…"

Jane fell back in her chair and sighed. Her whole world had just been ripped apart, turned upside down, washed, dried and put back together again. Her science brain immediately fired a thousand questions on her conscious mind until she got a headache of it. This could change everything! What did this mean for history? Could this solve mysteries that had looked impossible until now?

"Are there any other legends that are true?" she asked after a while. Loki sighed and got to his feet. He walked over the other side of the room where he'd just spotted a small fridge, tucked away behind the third desk. He was hoping for a coke…

Thor frowned. He was sure that there were some more, but he couldn't really put his finger on it at the moment.

"Loki?" he asked after a while. The young who'd just found out the fridge was closed with a lock turned around. He scowled.

"Why should I know!" he asked.

"Well you're the bookworm!" Thor answered with a smile. Loki smirked and thought for a moment. He didn't really wanted to break his mind over this, but he was a little bit interested himself too now.

"Wasn't there some other story…" he started after a couple of seconds. "A French one… about a girl…something with a war…"

Jane looked up in surprise. "Jeanne D'arc!" she shouted exitedly. Loki thought about that for a moment and nodded.

"Yeah… I think it was Jeanne D'arc…"

Thor nodded. "Right…" he said. "That was Sif! I remember that day…"

Thor looked at the ceiling while the memories came to the surface. Loki nodded in agreement.

"That was one heck of a rescue, if you ask me…" the young king said while he opened the drawer of Thor's desk to get the keys. He looked at the different keys and decided that the little one would probably fit. Thor didn't even notice.

Jane looked from Thor too Loki and back. "You don't mean that Sif was Jeanne D'arc!" she said in surprise.

Thor woke up from his daydream of long forgotten memories and looked at Jane.

"Well, she couldn't exactly go by the name of Sif, could see…"

"But… but…" Jane stuttered. "Jeanne D'arc died… she was burned alive at the stake!"

Thor smiled. "That where we come in…" he said mysteriously. Jane's eyes grew big!

"You mean you were there! But that hundreds of years ago!"

Thor grinned.

"We were teenagers back then…" he said.

"Not to mention; I was taller than Thor then!" Loki added smiling. The God of Thunder scowled.

"Anyway… Sif had gone down, because we had a fight!"

"Correction!" Loki interrupted. "You had a fight with Sif! We had nothing to do with it!"

"Who's we?" Jane asked quickly.

"Lady Sif, the Worriers Three, Loki and me… And I'm sorry about that, Loki!"

"What did you do?" Jane asked suspiciously. Thor scowled once more.

"I didn't believe Sif when she said she would be a better worrier than me…" he confessed. "Sif was so mad that she went to Earth to prove she could lead battles and be a better worrier then the other men!"

"What happened?" Jane asked when Thor turned quiet.

"Everything went great!" Loki continued. He'd managed to open the fridge and he'd found a can of coke. "Until it didn't of course. We came down when Heimdall told us Sif was in danger. The Worriers Three fought of the enemies and Thor saved Sif from the stake. Only a few saw it, others were distracted by the fighting and the only reason why some called Jeanne D'arc a witch is because of me… "

"But all the sources state that Jeanne D'arc died that day!" Jane repeated.

"That's because she did…" Loki said mysteriously while opening his can. "Sif wasn't burned alive, Jeanne D'arc was. Like I said: it's because of me that some thought and still think that Jeanne D'arc was a witch. I created an illusion on the place where Sif had been standing. People saw Jeanne die, while Sif was already safe and sound."

Thor nodded. "That was a rather fun battle…"

Loki on the other hand scowled. "Not me! That was the most horrible illusion I'd ever created! A screaming, burning lump of bloody flesh!"

Thor grinned. "Oh, really? Worse than faking your own death…"

Loki smiled his usual smile and took a nip of his coke. "Now that was fun!"

Suddenly the bell, which lett them know a new customer had arrived, rang and the three of them looked up. When Loki saw who it was he almost choked on his coke.

"Tony!" a voice sounded. Thor and Jane turned to Loki when they realisd that the man who'd just entered knew Loki... even worse, Loki's illusion!

Loki was frozen. Everything happened so quickly, he hadden't had the time to change again.

The man opened his arms and hugged Loki in a way to familiar way.

"It is I!" the man continued with a fake Italian accent. "Stuart! You're special friend who gave you a ride..."

Loki wanted to sayd something, but he was so surpirsed, he didn't manage to say something. he wqas even getting kind of scared.

Stuart winked at Loki, which almost made him puke. "You left so quickly, my love..." he said in a whisper. "I didn't catch your phonenumber..." he added with another wink. Loki opened his mouth, wishing something else then puke would come out when suddenly...

Three black cars stopped in front of the office, soflty hitting the red cabrio in which was parked there. Stuart turned pale and made a high pitched sound.

"My beauty!" he squeeked before running out of the building.

Men in suits, carrying guns and earpieces, got out and made their way to the front door. Everybody in the room looked shock, especially when they recognized the logo: an abstract drawing of an eagle. SHIELD. Loki looked at Thor. Did that idiot give him away? But Thor and Jane were both staring awe struck out of the window. They clearly didn't know what was happening either.

Two people entered the room. TOne was a tall men, who looked like someone who didn't have much fun in his life. He was big and muscled. His face was covered in what seemed like a constant serious scowl. His eyes immediately focused on Loki, him being the only strange face in the room. The second person was a women, which they all knew as Agent Hill.

Agent Hill walked over to Thor.

"Thor, you need to come with us! Emergency!"

Thor shook his head. Everything was happening to quickly, he couldn't follow…

"How did you find me?" Thor finally asked. "How did you now I was here?"

Agent Hill sighed. "We never lost you, Thor. We always knew where you were. We need you to come with us, now! And that counts for you too, Doctor Foster!"

"What's happening?" Jane asked after she'd found the way to speak again.

"Our meters have detected a high radiation of Tesseract Energy under the streets of New York. We've found one particularly strong point. The street is about to blow! You need to come with us. We can use whatever knowledge you have about the Tesseract! Doctor Selvig is already on the sight. Stark en Banner are coming. We need your help now!"

On the other side of the room, Loki followed the conversation silently. He was growing weary of that dude staring, but tried to ignore it. The moment he'd heard the word Tesseract, every fibre in his body froze instantly.

_Tesseract Energy…_ The young king hoped he'd never needed to hear that again…

"It's in a street close to Broadway…", Agents Hill continued. Loki blinked. He had no idea what Broadway meant or was, but he had the feeling he'd read it somewhere. The young king looked around.

"You need to follow me, now!" Agent Hill repeated, her voice growing more impatient every second. Jane sprang to her feet and looked at Loki. Thor noticed it.

"He has to come with us!" the God of Thunder said. Agent Hill and her partner looked bewildered.

"Who is he?" Agent Hill immediately asked. Thor looked at Jane and Jane's eye fell on the Harry Potter book Loki had left on the table next to the couch.

"His name's … Harry… Harry Livingstone… He's my intern, but he knows quite a lot about the Tesseract. He's been working on it with me…Right Harry?"

Loki looked up. Thor staring look made it clear he had to come up with a lie. Loki turned to Agent Hill and mister creepy and said in a snooty British accent: "That's right, I'm from London University… The Tesseract is a rather funny object, for example... "

"All right he can come…" Agent Hill quickly cut him off. Thor let go of his breath and ran to his desk to get his coat. Afterwards he followed Jane and Agent Hill out the door.

In the meantime Loki tried to remember where he'd read something about Broadway… His eyes fell on the papers about Frigga's excursion Thor had put on the desk. Loki put down his can and took the letter.

_**W 169**__**th**__** St **_

_**Close to Broadway**_

Loki froze on the spot. Outside he could here an another Agent talk to Agent Hill.

"I just received an update: there's a school bus stuck on the sight…"

Loki couldn't hear Agent Hill's response. The blood pounded in his ears while a sickening feeling took hold of his body.

"Thor…" the young king said softly. The God of Thunder turned around, ready to shout something like: "Just come with us!", but Loki's pale face made the words get stuck in his throat. Behind him, Jane also noticed Loki's strange behaviour.

Loki held up the address. Both parents froze on the spot. Then out of nowhere Jane started screaming. She ran outside and clung onto Agent Hill, yelling something. Thor and Loki followed.

Agent Hill asked something at the dude on the other end of her earpiece, in order to answer Jane's desperate question. It stayed silent for a couple of seconds. Then the expression on Agent Hill's face changed. She slowly nodded.

* * *

**No Stress! I'm already writing on the next one! Hope you liked it! Next Chapter will contain a bit more action, PROMISE!**

**Please review!**

**(and a nice holiday for everyone who has one... ;) )**

**Rumple x**


	16. Chapter 15

**Hi! Here it is! Enjoy!**

**(Oh and just for the record... I ACTUALLY MANAGED TO PASS MY EXMAMS! just saying...)**

* * *

_**Chapter 15**_

Jane, Thor and Loki ran to the closest car with Agent Hill in their wake. Doors opened, doors slammed shut and all the time Jane shouted at no one in particular they had to move. One by one the car drove off, ignoring every red light, angry driver or stop sign on their way.

Loki quickly understood the meaning and advatages of the seatbelt. He tried hard to stay on his spot, pressed between a hysterical Jane and Thor on the backseat, only just managing to keep up the illusion of Tony. In the meantime Agent Hill, who was sitting in front tried to calm Jane down, while explaining the situation.

"After the Battle of New York, SHIELD had to clean up the city as fast as possible, but the damage was massive. Buildings where broken down or build up, streets were cleaned and repaired, cars and bodies were moved… all overnight. As a result ,we haven't paid attention to what we were burying under the new streets. Our equipment, build by Doctor Foster and Doctor Selvig, have been scanning the area for some time now. During the attack, weapons powered by the Tesseract were used. We don't know how, but in some spots, this Energy was trapped. We think it might resemble the Energy in Loki's sceptre: trapped and extremely dangerous! As you probably heard, this Energy has consumed an entire SHIELD base in a matter of seconds. That's exactly what is happening now, close to Broadway on a smaller scale, yet dangerous. If the Energy implodes on itself, it might take the whole street, including the buildings with it.…"

"I don't care!" Jane suddenly shouted. She grabbed the back of Agent Hill's chair. "I want to know where my daughter is!"

Jane was crying now. Agent Hill looked at the desperate mother.

"We don't know! All we know is that the bus is stuck!"

Jane couldn't take it anymore. She started shaking the chair like a complete lunatic.

"I! Want! My! Daughter!" she screamed.

The car suddenly stopped. Thor threw open his door and almost fell out of the car. Loki crawled behind him. Agent Hill also stepped out the car. Jane, who had managed to find the door handle through a nonstop stream of tears, immediately focuses on the white tape, stretched over the street. Without thinking she ran to it, her eyes desperately searching for Frigga, her class, or at least the bus. Thor caught her just in time. Jane struggled and screamed.

"Let go of me! LET GO! I need to save my child! Where is my daughter! FRIGGA!"

Thor grabbed Jane's face. "Honey! Listen!"

Jane looked up and slowly recognized her husband's face.

"You… you have to save her…" she stuttered while grabbing Thor shirt. "You have to!"

"Jane! It's going to be all right! I promise… They'll…"

Thor was cut off when Agent Hill ran towards them.

"I've just received that the bus is clear! All the kids are out! Follow me!"

Jane had the feeling she was going to faint so she allowed Thor to guide her to the big black van parked a bit further. Inside she spotted Erik Selvig. The scientist was talking to a young Agent when he saw the distressed couple.

"Jane! Thor!" he said while trying to keep a smile on his face. "Don't you worry! Everything is going to be fine. The kids have all crawled out of the bus! Little heroes they are!"

"What exactly happened?" Agent Hill asked while the couple next to her searched the ground for the kids. They first spotted Loki/Tony, standing not very far from their position. He was staring at a point at the other end of the street. They followed his stare. There they saw a yellow school bus with a row of terrified little kids next to it, all guided by a couple of Agents to their side of the street.

Behind them, they heard Erik explain the situation.  
"The Tesseract Energy is piling up every seconds. About two hours ago, there was a small earthquake. We believe the driver lost control over the bus and drove into the building over there. A part of the facade has come down and buried half of the bus. The emergency exit is blocked, so the kids had to crawl through the window. Like I said: real heroes…"

Loki searched the terrified kids one by one. His heart was beating out of his chest, but seemed to shrink every time he didn't recognize the face he wanted.

_Where is she? _he thought while trying to swallow. He was sure that this was the bus Frigga had been on. So where was she!

Suddenly the ground started to shake. The high-pitched screams of the little children cut through the air. An earthquake! And this one was bigger than the last one. With the sound of crushing and scraping metal, the facade of the building opposite of the street came down and covered the rest of the bus.

And then it stopped. Loki had managed to stay on his feet – he was rather used to sudden 'earthquakes' – and desperately searched the kids again. They were fine, but he still couldn't find a pair of terrified bright blue eyes. Loki turned and saw Jane and Thor, paler than ever, starring in the kids' direction.

Erik crawled to his feet again and turned to the van.

"Update?"

"The Energy is reaching maximum. It can blow any second, sir!" an female Agent said looking at the little screens inside the van.

Erik cursed under his breath. "Secure the Area!" he said to Agent Hill. She nodded and walked away, while shouting something in her earpiece. Erik rubbed his forehead when Jane suddenly ran up to him.

"Erik! She's not there! Frigga is not there!"

Thor tried to calm his wife down, but was too scared himself. Loki joined them.

Just at that moment, the women's voice sounded from the van.

"Errrr… Doctor… You might want to see this…"

Erik jumped into the van and bowed over the screen the woman was pointing at. He groaned.

"No, no, no…." he whispered. The screen showed a thermal scan of the bus and right now, they could all see the small silhouette of child at the back of the bus.

Jane made some kind of high pitched sound and sank to her knees, taking hold of her husband's blue jeans while she did.

"How is that possible! You said all the kids got out!" Thor shouted.

"I don't understand why she didn't follow the others…" Erik answered. He covered his mouth with his hand and loosened his tie a bit. In the meantime, the female Agent explained the new situation in her earpiece.

"Doctor, we're trying to get a team there…" she said after a couple of seconds. Erik nodded quickly.

"Thank you, Martha…." he said in a whisper.

Loki watched Martha. He frowned. The young king knew when someone was lying and this woman was definitely lying. There was no way that SHIELD was going to even try save Frigga...

Thor nodded. SHIELD would save her! He knew they would. He didn't know what was happening anymore.

_Frigga… _he thought. _Why Frigga?_

Sound faded away and suddenly the world seemed all wrong. At his feet, Thor could see his wife crying in a complete breakdown. Around him people ran and shouted, but their voices seemed far away. In front of him, Erik was looking at the screens in panic, but nowhere he could find anyone, except for him and Jane, who seemed to understand that his daughter was stuck in a bus that was about to blow. Didn't they feel the love for her as he did? Didn't their world collapse?

The God of Thunder was dragged from his thoughts when someone pulled his arm rather hard. He looked down and stared in a pair of desperate brown eyes.

"What are you doing!" a voice sounded from beneath those eyes. It took a while before Thor remembered that this voice belonged to "Tony" and that Loki was talking to him. The God of Mischief seemed to notice Thor's hesitation and quickly changed "Tony's" eyes into his own light grey ones.

"Why are you still standing here!" Loki hissed. "Do something!"

Thor frowned. "SHIELD will get her out! Didn't you hear?"

Loki dragged Thor behind the van. "Listen to yourself! This is SHIELD! They don't care about Frigga! Why would they risk the lives of a bunch of highly trained Agents to save a child that could be dead!"

Thor pushed Loki away from him, his eyes filled with cold anger and fear.

"Frigga is not dead!" he hissed. Loki had to admit he didn't like to think of that possibility either, but being realistic was in his nature.

"Then don't just stand here! Save her!"

"SHIELD is sending in a team…" Thor started, but his brother cut him off.

"You imbecile!" Loki shouted furiously. "She's your daughter! How can you even trust these puny humans! They can't do anything! That bus is stuck an can blow sky high every second! DO SOMETHING!"

Thor knew Loki was right, but there was something that was holding him back. Something that he could only describe as terror. Fear to find out the truth, to find his daughter dead. Thor completely froze while the tears started filling up his eyes. He'd never been so scared in his whole life.

Loki couldn't believe his eyes, but at the same time he almost pitied his brother. For once he was braver than Thor, even though he was so terrified himself. While Thor lost it, he could keep his mind where it belonged and think straight. Behind him Loki could hear a familiar noise. The noise of a metal suit hitting the ground. Stark had arrived. Jane immediately started screaming against him, so Loki couldn't quite follow the conversation.

Cold anger and hatred filled his whole body while he watched Thor crying in front of him.

_Humans… always wasting so much time! _ he thought in disgust. Loki turned around and ran towards the side of the street as far away from the van as possible. At the other end of the street he could see the yellow school bus. The only way to get to it was to walk against the side of the street in the shadows of the buildings and afterwards cross the street. The shortest way was blocked by annoying Agents.

Loki threw a last look at the van. Four Agents tried to calm down Jane who was completely losing it now. Nobody was paying attention to him, so Loki turned himself invisible an crawled underneath the ribbon that separated the danger zone and the rest of the street. With every step Loki took he could feel the incredible force of the Tessarect Energy under the street. Fear took hold of his heart, but the young king forced himself to keep walking. Under his feet he could feel the stone break. Carefully, but as fast as possible, Loki made his way to the point where he could cross the street to get to the bus. He took a deep breath and cautiously put his feet on the open street. The stone broke. The young king froze and looked at the cars at the other side of the ribbon. Would someone notice him? There scanners probably would. Loki decided he didn't have much time. Step by step he crossed the street, every time leaving a bigger crack.

After what seemed to take ages, Loki finally reached the bus. Like he'd thought, it was almost completely covered by wood and rocks. Cautiously the young king walked around the bus to see if he could reach a window. At the end of the bus he found a little bit of unbroken, clean glass. Slowly, Loki climbed up a couple of stones and pierced through the glass. There, at the last seat he could see little Frigga. She was crying, pale as snow and … stuck… The window next to Frigga's seat was broken and a couple of steel bars blocked her way to the front of the bus. Besides that was her feet stuck in between one of those bars and her chair. Like Erik had said the emergency exit was blocked from the outside by a wall of stones and steel.

Loki bit his lip. Even though he was relieved Frigga was still alive, he didn't really see a way to free his niece. The ground shivered again and Loki fell down the pile while he could here Frigga scream in fright inside the bus. He needed to hurry. Loki took a deep breath and concentrated.

Frigga screamed and covered her head with her arms. The whole bus cracked when a new earthquake made everything shiver once more. Small drops of hot red blood dripped on her shirt from the small head wound right above her left ear, but the little girl didn't care. Her feet was stuck and the metal bar was crushing it under its weight. Frigga was crying, she'd never been so scared in her life. Where was he daddy? She wanted to see her mummy! With all her might, Frigga tried to lift the bar from her foot, but it wouldn't move.

Why did this happen! And what was happening? Frigga hadn't noticed the two bullies, who were sitting on the chairs in front of her, tying her shoelaces to her seat. When the bus suddenly slipped and hit the building Frigga had been thrown of her chair. Everybody was screaming and yelling and Frigga had tried to get to her feet when she noticed she was stuck. In the chaos that follow no one had noticed the frightened girl who lay on the ground at the back of the bus. When a another earthquake had attacked the area, Frigga's window had broken and allowed debris to block the only way out.

Frigga screamed in agony. She was scared and alone and the bars where hurting her foot.

And then suddenly she wasn't alone anymore. Frigga's stopped breathing while she watched Loki, looking like his normal self, unexpectedly appeared in front of her. The young king looked too perfect. There was no dust on his clothes and he just didn't seem to fit in the bus.

Frigga tried to get up. She had never been so relieved to see anyone, but the bars stopped her.

"I'm stuck…" she said in between sobs even though it was quite obvious she was stuck.

Loki smiled sadly.

"I can't help you Frigga. This is only a illusion of myself. I'm standing right outside the bus. All I can do is talk…"

The hope that had lit up Frigga's eyes disappeared again, making place for new tears. Before she could say anything, Loki went on.

"You have to listen carefully, because we are running out of time."

Frigga nodded. She didn't understand what was going on, but she trusted Loki would get her out of here. Loki's illusion kneeled before the frightened girl and smiled kindly.

"You are a demigod, Frigga… You know what that means? It means you are different than others. You are stronger! I'm no 'full' Asgardian myself, but I'm still physically stronger than any human. You can lift those bars! You just have to try!"

Frigga shook her head. "I can't! I already tried! I'm not strong at all!"

Loki smiled. "I believed that too for a very long time and even though I'll never be as strong as Thor, I've got other strengths. I've got brains for example… Believe me when I say this: with the strength of Thor and the brains of your mother, you'll get out of here in no time!"

Frigga swallowed. She wanted to belief Loki, but the endless bullying of her classmates didn't really fit in that theory. If she was strong, how was it that she couldn't even defend herself against those brainless pig faces!

"I believe you can do it…" Loki said silently.

Frigga bit her lip and forced herself to stop crying. She looked at Loki's encouraging smile before taking hold of the bars once more. With all her might she pulled. The bars didn't move and fright started to take over Frigga's heart again.

"You're an Asgardian, Frigga…" she heard Loki's illusion say behind her. "You're as much an Asgardian as I am. We belong on Asgard… as a family…."

Frigga lit up when she heard Loki say they were family. Again she pulled at the bars. Slowly they moved. Frigga's face turned red, but she only dropped the bars again when she managed to free her foot. Finally she let go of the steel. She looked up at Loki and smiled through her tears.

"I did it!" she shouted out of breath. Loki smiled back.

"You're not finished yet, Frigga. You need to get out. I want you to push against the emergency exit as hard as you can. I'll try to lift the rocks from the outside…" Frigga nodded and tried to get too her feet. Her foot protested, but the little girl chose to ignore the painful stabs that seemed to torture her ankle. She moved to the door and took hold of the door handle. She turned to Loki.

"I'll have to disappear now…" the illusion said. "I'm going to need everything I have to get you out of here."

It took a while before Frigga realised what Loki was going to do.

"No!" she cried out desperately. "Don't leave me! I'm scared!" Frigga stumbled forwards and tried to grab Loki, but she only fell through tin air. The illusion dissolved and Frigga started to panic until a second illusion appeared next to her.

"I'm right outside, waiting for you! You don't have to be scared."

Frigga was shivering. The same thought kept crossing her mind. What if it didn't work? What if she would die! Alone! Here!

Loki smiled encouraging. The illusion flickered a bit.

"When you get out, I promise I'll teach you some magic tricks…"

Frigga tried to smile and nodded.

"Okay…" she whispered before taking place before the door again and Loki's illusion dissolved a second time.

-xxx-

Outside the bus, Loki stumbled forward. His head was turning. He hadn't used this amount of magic for a long time. the young king blinked. He could feel the Energy of the Tesseract increase every second. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He lifted his hands and focused on the bricks blocking the exit. They didn't move. So Loki tried again. This time he could feel how Frigga was pushing the door at the other side of the wall. Steadily the wall started breaking and moving. Sweat covered the young kings face. Just before he thought he would faint, the wall finally broke down and Frigga fell out of the now open door right into his arms.

Loki blinked. Frigga held on to him as a new-born child, but her weight was too much for the remaining energy in Loki's body. He pushed Frigga away from him and looked at his niece. The little girl was crying, shivering and smiling at the same time. It was obvious she wasn't capable of standing on her feet for very long anymore, so Loki forced himself to remain standing.

"You follow me and step exactly where I put my feet! Understood?"

Frigga nodded fiercely. She dried her tears and tried not to think of the pain in her feet and head. Loki decided he had to change his appearance again since SHIELD would probably shoot him on sight if they saw him, even with Frigga. Turning themselves invisible was just not possible anymore.

Cautiously the two of them made their way around the bus and across the street.

-xxx-

In the meantime Loki's presents hadn't gone unnoticed. Selvig's scanners had registered another body close to the bus. Thor had immediately searched for Loki and when he couldn't find his brother/Tony he was certain that the body on the scanners was in fact Loki. Jane, who was turning from a complete breakdown to a commanding Agent had noticed Thor's behaviour. Together they were standing at the ribbon, watching the bus with fear in their hearts when suddenly Loki/Tony appeared with little Frigga in his wake. Behind them arose a commotion, but they didn't care. As fast as their feet could carry them, both parents ran to the spot where Loki had crawled under the ribbon, never losing sight of their daughter. Just at that moment another earthquake made the ground shake.

Loki almost fell over and only just managed to keep Frigga from doing the same. They were standing in the middle of the street and the shaking got worse until it suddenly stopped. For a couple of seconds it stayed silent. Then out of nowhere a high peep, coming from the scanners in the van filled the air. People started to scream. Loki could here Selvig shout: "Everybody! Get on ground!"

The young king shivered when he became aware of the raising Energy beneath him. The ground started to rumble. Frigga looked up at him with fear in her eyes.

"Loki!" Thor shouted over the rumbling. His brother looked up… just before the ground imploded with an deafening blow. Bright blue light filled the area while the street was ripped apart. The buildings collapsed and the yellow school bus was crushed with the terrible sound of scraping metal. Water pipes where cut, electricity lines ripped, cars and threes disappeared in the disaster.. The whole street was consumed by the bright blue light, only leaving a big cloud of dust and sand.

When it finally stopped, Thor looked up. He had pulled himself and Jane to the ground and had covered his wife with his body.

"No…" he said hoarsely in disbelief. Jane opened her eyes and sprang to her feet. She could barely see through the dust cloud.

"Frigga!" she screamed in agony. "FRIGGA!"

There came no answer.

"FRIGAAAA!"

Silence. To their right, the SHIELD Agents started to move again. Shouts echoed, order were given ... until the dust had disappeared. Everyone turned quiet.

Jane blinked confusedly. Before her she didn't see a terrible disaster as she and everybody else expected. What she saw was something that didn't belong there. That wasn't even of this earth. The ground behind the ribbon was covered in the greenest grass in existence. In the middle of the outstretched field there was a big pond shaped in two circles connected by a thin stream, filled with bright water in which you could see colourful fish. Every now and then, the grass was interrupted by a perfectly shaped rock. At the right there was a beautiful golden pavilion reflecting the almost non existing sunlight. In short, it was breath taking!

At the very end of the miraculous sight you could see two human shapes. One slowly got to his feet. In his arms he held a little frightened girl who seemed out of place wearing her in blood covered and ripped clothes. Especially in the arms of The God Of Mischief…

-xxx-

Selvig couldn't believe his eyes.

"Loki…" he whispered just loud enough to confirm Agent Hill's fears. They'd all heard Thor scream the God of Mischief's name, but they couldn't belief it until now.

Erik needed exactly two seconds to lose his mind. Two Agents and the Agent named Martha, only just managed to catch the frightened scientist when he sank to his knees, grabbed his head and screamed: "No! He's dead! He's dead!"

Agent Hill immediately shouted something through her earpiece while she wondered why the blue light she'd seen before seemed to float in Loki's direction.

Jane and Thor stared at Loki. They decided at exactly the same moment to duck under the ribbon. They followed each other as fast as possible jumping on the small pieces of street that had remained and which were strangely peaking above the grass of the amazing sight. Jane followed Thor's every move in the knowledge that if the stones could hold Thor, they could hold her too. To her right Jane could see Loki. The young king was standing as still as a statue with a shivering and crying Frigga in his arms. A flow of bright blue light continued to flow into his body. Jane frowned.

"What is he doing?" she heard herself ask.

"I'm not sure…" Thor answered clearly thinking over the same thing. "But I think he's absorbing the Tesseract Energy…"

Jane looked up. "What! Isn't that like… really bad! Isn't that what happened before the Battle of New York?"

Thor frowned and shook his head. "No… back then it was the Tesseract who controlled his mind and others, not the other way around…"

"But why is he doing this then? Is this some kind of Aether?"

"That's the problem… he shouldn't be able to do that… you've seen what the Tesseract does to people when it's Energy hits them…"

Jane swallowed when she remembered video's she'd seen about the time when Captain America had defeated the Red Skull. Also in New York the Tesseract had had the same result: the bodies were destroyed within half a second. Nothing remained.

"But how is that possible …" Jane asked.

Thor pulled up his shoulders. "I don't know. I just hope Loki knows what he's doing…"

The two parents had reached the spot where they could cross the street. Loki and Frigga where standing a few steps away from them. Jane and Thor looked down at the grass at their feet.

"Careful, Jane… it's an illusion!" Thor said. Jane looked up.

"That's an illusion?" she asked in disbelief. She'd seen Loki do some amazing illusions, but never one of this proportion.

"Why is he doing that?" Jane asked.

"I don't think we want to know…" Thor muttered. The illusion stopped before their feet so Thor and Jane cautiously made their way over the street behind the illusion.

"Loki…" Thor said when they reached his brother. Loki carefully turned to face his brother. Thor was taken back. Loki looked extremely pale and his face was covered in sweat. His eyes showed an incredible pain. For a second Thor was reminded of that moment on Svartalfheim when Loki had died in his arms. Was this an illusion again? No.. for some reason Thor knew that this was serious.

The illusion behind Loki flickered for a moment. The young king made eye contact with Thor.

"Take her…" he said in hoarse voice while loosening his grip on Frigga. Thor quickly reached for his daughter and had to pull her towards him before she let go of Loki. The little girl cried and grabbed her father's T-shirt. Thor hugged her tightly and then gave her to Jane. The distressed mother took hold of her daughter.

"Loki, what are you doing?" Thor asked worriedly when he saw the blue light was still flowing into the young king's body.

"Get her out of here!" Loki answered harshly. Thor could hear his brother was suffering.

"Loki, stop it!" Thor said while trying to reach for his brother, but Loki took a step back. His whole body was shaking and shivering. The illusion behind him started to loose it's form.

Thor and Jane searched for breath when the destruction became visible. A enormous whole appeared underneath the now almost transparent illusion. On the bottom they could see the remains of the yellow school bus and the buildings. Water streamed along the sides. Now they noticed that Loki was standing at the edge of the hole.

"Oh my dear God!" Jane shouted out of breath trying to make sure Frigga wouldn't see the horror.

The last bitts of the Tesseract Energy flowed into Loki's body. The young king shivered and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again they were no longer light grey, but bright Tesseract blue.

"Loki! No!" Thor shouted while his brother stumbled further to the edge. The young king smiled sadly. His eyes where fill with pure fear, regret and sadness.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered before tumbling backwards into the deep, gaping black hole...

* * *

**Hope you liked it! I think it's about time that I thank everyone who reviewed and read and liked and followed and ...**

**In short: I LOVE YOU GUYS! You've been great! I wouldn't be anything without you, so a very, very big THANK YOU!**

**You can expect a new chapie very soon, so ...**

**Please let me know what you think and review :)**

**Rumple x**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hi! It took a while, but it's a rather long chapter. I hope it was worth waiting ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 16**_

"LOKI!"

Thor heard his own voice echo a million times. He felt like his insides where crushed and stretched out at the same time. Behind him he could hear Frigga scream even though she couldn't see a thing. The God of Thunder felt how the world slowly disappeared around him. All he could see was his outstretched arm which had missed The God of Mischief by inches and his brother falling down the hole. A sickening feeling took hold of the prince of Asgard while his surroundings changed. For a second he could see Loki fall into a dark and destructive wormhole, while he watched in agony, not able to do anything.

_Not again! Not again! _ was all he could think while Loki fell further and further into the pit, hitting the edges painfully.

Suddenly everything went in slow motion. Loki hit the bottom of the pit and lay motionless on the ground. At the other side of the pit at least fifty SHIELD Agents lined up and pulled their guns, waiting for an order. Stark took off and flew over to their side. Thor could see him, but the words coming out of his mouth didn't seem to make any sense. Stark took his arm and tried to pull him away from the gaping hole.

"Thor!" Stark shouted. "Thor!"

After a couple of seconds the God Of Thunder finally seemed to snap out of his trance. Tony Stark waited before he was sure Thor noticed him.

"What the hell is happening, bro…" he asked. "I thought you said your charming stepbrother had left us… unless he has a ridiculously dressed twin, of course…"

Thor looked at the billionaire in front of him. Stark just kept talking – Jane was right, he just loved to hear himself – and even though the words didn't really found their way through, Thor managed to understand '_Loki…_' and '_shoot…_'.

Thor turned around again, ignoring Starks shouting and tight grip on his arm, and looked over at the SHIELD Agents. In the middle of the chaos he spotted Agent Hill, obviously hesitating about her next action. At least she understood that something bigger was at stake. Unfortunately Thor also saw a couple of new, idiotic looking Agents approach his friend. Probably to take over command and shoot Loki. Even though it took a lot more bullets to actually harm, let alone kill a god, Thor was quite sure that Loki wasn't capable of keeping up very long in his state.

_What would Loki do? What would he do if he was in my place… _Thor asked himself while throwing a look at his still unconscious – please let him be unconscious – brother. It was a question he used to ask himself more than once during the battles he'd fought in the past. Not that he would ever admit that, of course.

Stark kept shouting everything he could think of, but Thor wasn't listening and even the strong Ironman suit couldn't win from a God. Tony looked over to the other side of the void. He knew SHIELD was going to open fire any second. Why was Thor freaking out like this. All right, Loki was his brother, but still… Even Thor had been sure about The God of Mischief's death. After what Loki had done, Tony wouldn't really trust, let alone care about the young king.

The billionaire turned to Jane. Just like her husband, she was staring down the pit, pure fright reflected in her eyes. What was wrong with these people!

Tony couldn't find any reason for this couple's behaviour, but he wasn't stupid. He understood that there had to be a reason. A very good reason. Loki must have done something to gain their trust and whatever it was, they were prepared to stand up to SHIELD for it.

Stark wasn't going to lie. He didn't like SHIELD in the slightest except for a couple of its Agents like Coulson and Hill. If Jane and Thor were against SHIELD at the moment, he was on their side…

Suddenly Thor turned around. Behind him Agent Hill was trying to convince the newcomers to wait before attacking, but she was losing the fight. A sudden serious expression covered the God of Thunder's face and Stark immediately understood why Thor was called a good leader. Meanwhile, Thor stretched his arm towards the ground and opened his palm to call Mjölnir as discrete as possible.

"We have to get out of this place…" Thor said with a meaningful look. Stark nodded. He understood.

"Get them out of here!" The God of Thunder ordered the billionaire while looking over to Jane and Frigga. Stark frowned. What was Thor going to do!

"Thor, please.. Leave him!" Tony said, but Thor ignored him. The prince of Asgard looked down the pit while he slowly lifted his hand ready to catch Mjölnir. Loki still didn't show any sign of life and a nervous kind of fright took hold of Thor's heart.

At the other side of the pit, two Agents dragged a screaming Agent Hill away from the scene. A big guy with black sunglasses looked over to the other side of the pit. His eyes crossed Thor's. Both men already knew they were never going to like each other. Afterwards, the man said something in his earpiece to give the command to open fire.

On the moment that the general received the command and opened his mouth to shout the order to the other Agents, Mjölnir soared over their heads to find his way to his owner. Thor jumped into the pit and caught the hammer in mid-air. The God of Thunder landed next to Loki. He looked down, hoping his brother would move, but nothing happened.

"FIRE!"

Thor lifted his hammer skywards while taking a leap. With an incredible force Mjölnir hit the ground, making the Agents drop before they could target Loki properly.

The sound of at least fifty hasty guns, desperate to hit their target in time filled the air and muted Frigga's terrified scream while Stark took hold of her and her mother and took off.

Thor didn't wait for the rumbling to stop. He grabbed the still unconscious Loki and let Mjölnir take them away. The desperate shots and shouts faded beneath them…

-xxx-

Thor landed painfully on Stark Towers' balcony. Loki rolled out of his arms and smacked against the window. He stayed unconscious. Thor crawled to his feet and ran over to his brother. He dropped Mjölnir next to him and turned Loki on his back. Now that he could actually take a look at the young king, he wished he couldn't. Because of the fall, Loki was hurt more than once, but that wasn't the biggest problem. It was that fact that Loki wasn't healing that woried Thor most and which was extremely necessary at the moment. Thor checked Loki pulse. The young kings' heart was barely beating.

"Come on, come on…" Thor hissed. Thor took hold of Loki shoulders and shook him, wanting the youg king to wake up, but nothing happened.

"Come on!" he shouted. It had been a while since the God of Thunder had felt this hopeless. He looked down on his brother's body. Loki was wounded very bad. About every inch of his clothes was drained in blood, showing the bleeding wounds underneath. Also Loki's right arm was twitched in a abnormal angle. Thor rubbed his forehead and forced himself not to cry. He could feel a weird kind of tension around Loki's body as if he was energized. The Tessaract he assumed.

Suddenly Stark stomped outside. He was still wearing the Iron man suit and headed for the two brothers.

"Get that piece of shit of my balcony!" he shouted furiously while lifting his arms to point his weapons at Loki. Thor got to his feet and stepped in between Stark and his brother.

"Tony, please…" he started in a broken voice. "I understand you don't trust him, but I beg you… trust me! We have to get him inside!"

"Last time I invited Mr. Reindeer inside my house, he almost destroyed it!" Stark answered without lowering his arms.

"I know that…" Thor said when he got interrupted by the sound of a dozen cars coming to a stop. SHIELD had arrived. In the distance, he could see three helicopters getting closer.

Stark noticed it too. He turned back to Thor and seemed to hesitate. His thoughts from before crossed his mind. Thor had to have a reason for trusting his treacherous brother…

"Please…" Thor repeated. He didn't have the strength left to argue or fight with Stark. Finally Stark dropped his arms and sighed.

"I swear this on the sexy mega bunny I bought for Pepper: if he as much as scratches my wall or my floor, I invent something to kill a God with…"

Stark glanced at Loki and sighed once more.

"On second thought... I'm sure Pepper is going to kill him first because of all the blood… Put him in my lab…"

"Thank you…" Thor said before lifting Loki and taking him inside. Stark followed, walking as nonchalant as possible, waving at the helicopters. When he closed the glass door behind him he pressed a touchpad which was hanging behind his bar to life and pressed a red button which lighted up.

"Jarvis, complete lock down!" he ordered his loyal computer.

"Off course, sir. Password please…"

"I. AM. AWESOME." Stark responded clearly.

"Password correct…" Jarvis said. For a second the lights flickered shortly. Outside a blue-ish shield formed and covered the entire building. Stark strolled over to the bar and made himself a cocktail.

"Jarvis, give my balls some air, will ye…" he said with a smile. Immediately the Iron man suit started to click and move. Part by part loosened from his body and flew to the other side of the room where it landed in a glass case until the suit was formed again. With his glass still in his hand Stark sauntered to his lab.

There he found Thor. Loki lay motionless on a table. Thor was standing next to him and looked up when the billionaire entered the room.

"What was that?" The God of Thunder asked gesturing to the window where he could still see the slight shimmering of the almost transparent shield.

"Complete lockdown…" Tony said while putting down his glass. Thor knew Stark would explain, so he waited patiently.

"It's powered by the Arc reactor. It keeps out any kind of weapon, bullet or human, except if I want them to enter…"

"I thought SHIELD wouldn't dare to attack you…" Thor said with a smile.

Tony raised his shoulders. "Of course not! But this is so much cooler!"

Thor shook his head and looked at Loki again.

"Where are Jane and Frigga?" he asked after a while.

"Upstairs, with Pepper and Bruce. The little one is a little bit stressed out…"

Thor nodded again.

"Look, Tony…" The God of Thunder started, but he was cut off when a pale Jane and terrified looking Frigga entered the room. They were followed by Pepper and Bruce Banner.

Frigga squeaked when she saw Loki and despite her mother's attempts to stop her, she ran towards the table. The little girl grabbed Loki's in blood covered hand and shook it, hoping he would wake up. Her father slowly took her hand and forced hids daughter to let go.

"What wrong, Daddy! Why doesn't he wake up!" Frigga said with tears in her eyes. Thor took the little girl in his arms and looked at the small head wound. Bruce had cleaned it out.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but I want you to stay upstairs with Pepper. We don't know what Loki will do if… when wakes up…"

Frigga wanted to argue, but the pain in her father's eyes made her change her mind. She nodded and hugged her dad before walking over to Pepper. The little girl looked at her mother.

"I'll be up in a minute, sweetie, you go…" Jane answered. Her eyes were glued to Loki's bloody body. She waited until Frigga and Pepper had left the room before expressing her disgust. She raised her hand and held it in front of her mouth to make sure she wouldn't scream.

"Dear God…" she whispered while joining her husband at the table. Thor threw a comforting arm around her.

All the time, Bruce Banner hadn't said a word. He just stood in the corner of the room and watched The God Of Mischief in disgust. Just as Tony he was smart enough to understand that there was more to this, but he couldn't deny the fact that he still hated Loki.

Thor turned to both scientists.  
"I understand that you don't like this, but please trust me when I say that Loki is different. He saved Frigga's life. He's been on Earth for a couple of weeks and hasn't done anything wrong. Loki is King of Asgard. He needs to live! I know that you have questions and I swear I will answer every single one of them, but I beg you now… please, help him!"

Thor had to try hard not to start crying. Stark scowled.

"I'm sorry, but this is madness. I agree that SHIELD sucks and I'm happy to take every chance to go against them, but that doesn't mean I going to help a freak who destroyed my house and city and gives me nightmares up until today!"

"I understand, but…"

"Give me one good reason why I should help… that!" Tony said angrily while gesturing to Loki as if he were pointing at a rat.

"Like I said: he's king of Asgard!" Thor repeated.

"Excuse me, but I thought your father was king Asgard!"

"Tony…" Thor tried. How he hated talking with Tony Stark… "It's a long story… and even I don't know the details, but…"

"And you still trust him!" Tony interrupted. Thor groaned and closed his eyes for a second.

"Yes!" he finally answered. "I trust him… for now… I made a mistake by keeping him here! I believe he's the king Asgard and I've always known he would be a good king!"

Tony turned quiet. He stared at Thor in disbelief. "Am I correct if I say that until a few weeks back you thought he was dead too?"

Thor wanted to answer, but another voice was first.

"You really trust him?" Bruce asked seriously. It wasn't a real question, but more a conformation. Thor turned to the scientist.

"Yes… I do…"

Bruce turned silent for a couple of seconds and sighed. He took off his glasses and cleaned them with the tip of his shirt while he slowly walked over to them.

"Don't get me wrong: I hate your stepbrother. I disgust him for hurting so many innocent. In my eyes he doesn't deserve to live, but unfortunately I'm not the one who can decide about that. As long as there is someone left who wants him to live, I will do everything in my power to save him. Understand that I don't do this for him! I do this for Frigga and for you, Thor. If he dies, it's not my fault!"

Thor suppressed the urge to hug the scientist. Bruce turned to Loki and inspected his body while he pulled up his sleeves.

"Wow! Wow!" Stark called out while jumping in between Bruce and Loki. "What the hell, dude! Did you forget what he did! That's freaking Loki! Kill the innocent and destroy New York - Loki!"

Bruce sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Tony, you're thinking it too: they must have a good reason to trust him. That doesn't mean have to too. And by the way, this is a chance out of a million. I don't know if you get it, but you have the chance to examine a God/frost giant. And he probably knows a lot more about the Tessaract than we do."

"But…" Stark looked from Bruce to Thor and Jane and back. He couldn't believe what they were doing. "We don't even know what happened, let alone what he will do when… if he wakes up!"

"About time we found then, shall we…" Bruce answered kindly before turning to Loki again and pushing his glasses on their place. He took Loki's hand and checked his pulse. Loki's heart was beating in the most irregular way he'd ever felt. One moment in pounded so fast and hard that he couldn't tell the beats apart and the other moment it was barely beating at all. Bruce frowned.

"What exactly happened?" he asked ignoring Tony's expression of disbelief. Thor stepped forward.

"I'm not quite sure but… it seemed like… Loki absorbed the Tesseract Energy…"

Bruce looked up, not able to hide the flash of fear in his eyes. "You mean like what happened to Erik and Clint…"

Thor bit his lip. "Kind of, I suppose, but I don't think he's under control of anyone. When he used the sceptre, he actually took control of the victims and it only worked when he touched the exact middle of the chest. Now it was more as if… he … well absorbed… attracted the Tessaract Energy… against his will…" Thor added.

"What do you mean: against his will…" Bruce asked. Thor rubbed his forehead.

"I mean that he… he was doing it himself and I think he was controlling the Energy, but I don't think he really 'enjoyed' it, if that's the way to put it… From what I saw, I think he was pushing himself to his limits… which would make sense because I never thought that anyone could survive that much Energy."

Bruce seemed to think about Thor's explanation. After a couple of seconds he turned around to face Tony who was observing the scene with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Jarvis," Bruce started. "I want every camera image you can find of what happened. And give me the Energy readings spread over two days, please."

"My apologies, Doctor Banner, but we're in a complete lockdown, I can only accept order from mister Stark."

Bruce sighed and looked over to Tony. The billionaire tried to make a decision. He looked at Loki who seemed to worsen every minute. He looked at Thor and Jane and finally made eye contact with Bruce.

"We're really doing this?" he asked while putting down his empty glass. Bruce nodded and Stark sighed while rubbing his temples. He threw his hands in the air and said: "All right then, do what he says, buddy!"

"Of course, sir…" Jarvis said before the screens which were spread across the room flickered to life. Within a few seconds every screen was filled with camera tapes, pictures, graphs and numbers. Stark walked to the middle of the room while he muttered: "Sure, let's safe the person who almost killed us…"

When he reached the middle of the room, Tony clapped his hands and immediately the room was filled with a projection of the street before it blew. Stark walked around the replica while he waited for Jarvis to add some details based on the camera recordings.

Meanwhile Bruce inspected Loki a bit more.

"Aren't Gods supposed to heal by themselves, a lot faster than humans, I mean? Or is Loki an exception?"

Thor shook his head. "No and that's what's troubling me too. If he doesn't start healing, he'll just bleed to his death."

"I wonder what's stopping him…" Bruce muttered. "Jarvis, please give me the Tesseract scanner."

"Here you go, Doctor Banner…"

The ceiling above the table opened and a white, weird looking bow lowered until Bruce could grab a handle on top of the device. With his other hand he pushed a small button next to the handle and the scanner zoomed to life. Slowly Bruce moved the scanner over Loki's body while he kept his eyes fixed on the screen which displayed the readings. One by one every light on the screen started flickering bright red to indicate extremely high and dangerous readings. Bruce frowned and let go of the scanner when he reached Loki's feet and walked over to the screen. He touched a couple of buttons to make sure the numbers were correct.

"This is impossible!" he shouted. "Normally his body should have exploded the moment that even one percent of this amount touched his skin! The only reason that Clint and Eric and all those others stayed alive was because the Energy was concentrated and controlled!"

"So that mean that Loki is controlling it…" Jane said. She'd finally managed to find her voice and had decided she wasn't going to be all useless.

Bruce pulled up his shoulders. "I would say so, but in his state I wouldn't speak about controlling it, more about surviving it…"

"You mean it's killing him!" Thor almost shouted. Bruce sighed.

"Look, Thor, I don't know. The Tesseract is a mystery to all of us. Even after years of research we can only guess about it workings. What Loki is doing, is something we thought impossible until now, but we also know that Loki wields some kind of magic we also don't understand. I don't know what Loki can do either. All I know is that he isn't very healthy at the moment. If I would see a human in his state I would say he's a dead man, I'm sorry."

"But can't you get it out!" Thor shouted. Bruce Banner was next to Tony and Jane the smartest scientist he knew. If he couldn't do it, then no one could!

Bruce took of his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Thor, I don't even know what he did. How would I know to get the Energy out!"

Thor wanted to answer, but nothing came out of his mouth. He looked at his brother. In his heart he knew that he was actually losing him now and there was nothing he could do about it. Bruce turned around to watch the other screens and the projection in the middle of the room. Stark was zooming in on different parts of the sight.

"Tony, can you show me the moment directly after the explosion." Tony nodded and repeated the order to Jarvis. The projection turned until Tony had a good view on the projection of Loki right in front of him.

"You go, Jarvis…" he said and the projection started moving forward again as if they were watching a film. A blinding blue light, immediately followed by bursting flames lit up the room. Because of all the debris neither Tony nor Bruce could see Loki.

"Jarvis", Bruce started while he joined Tony in the middle of the circle, " Play that again in slow motion and remove the dust and dim the light please."

The computer obeyed and played it again. Everyone could see how Loki turned to Frigga after Thor had screamed his name. He ducked down and threw his arms around Frigga just as hell broke loose. The ground exploded and Tony and Bruce could see how a transparent shield formed around Loki and Frigga to protect them from debris. The longer the explosion went on, the more the shield started flickering. Just before everything turned silent Loki looked over his shoulder to the void behind them. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again the illusion of the Asgardian garden had formed.

The air was filled with a thin layer of blue Tesseract Energy.

"Jarvis, highlight the Energy flow!" Stark said without taking his eyes of the God of Mischief. Jarvis zoomed out and highlighted the Energy. The whole sight turned bright blue.

Loki slowly got to his feet, holding the terrified little Frigga in his arms. The blue flows floated in his direction and disappeared in his body.

"Pause!" Tony said. The image froze.

"How much energy is in the air Jarvis?" Bruce asked.

Bruce already knew the answer, but he just wanted Jarvis to confirm that Loki had in fact absorbed everything.

Bruce and Tony shared a look after which Tony clapped his hand, said: "All right, thanks buddy…" and the image disappeared. Afterwards both scientists turned to Loki and inspected the unconscious God for a couple of seconds.

"Thor!" Tony suddenly called out. "What do we know about the Tesseract?"

Thor pulled up his shoulders. "Not much, not more than you know. It's treacherous, dangerous and powerful. It gives you all the power in the world, but turns you mad. The legend says it's made out of pure anger, hatred, sadness etc. Every time it's used it becomes stronger because it feeds on your own hate, makes it stronger and lets it take over your mind. Most people don't survive the touch of the Tesseract or are at least never the same again afterwards. Look at what it did to Eric. Believe me, that wasn't just Loki in his head. The Tesseract was in Loki's head too."

Tony and Bruce's eyebrows shot into the air.  
"You mean that Loki only killed a few hundred people including Coulson just because a little fancy cube turned him mad…" Stark asked.

"Loki can be quite mad out of himself, but not that careless… half of what he did was because of the Tesseract. It only made his feelings of revenge stronger. Don't get me wrong, he probably would have done it without the Tesseract too, but Loki has a weakness for power. He just longs to be stronger and that might be partly my fault…"

Thor turned silent. Bruce on the other hand wasn't really interested in Thor's and Loki's relationship, a bigger problem had occurred to him…

"But what does that mean now?" the scientist asked. "Is Loki crazy now?"

Everybody in the room looked at each other. They hadn't thought of that possibility yet. At the same time they all looked at Loki as if they expected him to jump of the table and start killing everyone.

"No…" Thor finally said. "No, he wouldn't do that! He wouldn't absorb the Tesseract if he knew that it would turn him crazy again!"

"Thor, you just said it yourself: Loki can't resist power. Maybe he couldn't stop himself. Maybe you have to accept that he is evil! That he is Loki!" Tony almost shouted.

"No!" Thor answered furiously. "I know what I said, but you don't understand what Loki looks like when he or we talk about the Tesseract. Loki is not a person who gets scared easily. He always manages to keep it cool when everybody else loses it! But the Tesseract freaks him out!"

Tony was taken aback by Thor's angry reaction. Jane put a comforting hand on her husband's shoulder and looked at the two scientist.

"It's true. I asked Loki about the Tesseract some time ago and he completely closed up within the second. And when Hill told us about the Tesseract, I swear I saw him freeze on the spot! Loki wouldn't do this unless there was no other way…"

"What would have happened if Loki wouldn't have done that?" Thor asked.

Bruce looked at Tony to check if they had the same theory. Both men had been working together for such a long time they didn't need any words to understand each other.

"I think that the Energy would have spread and polluted the air. There's a chance it might have found a way to or destroy or control the bodies it touched…"

"Loki is a king!" Thor interrupted. "What you are saying is exactly what he was doing! He was saving people!"

"It's only a theory…" Tony tried.

"It's true!" Jane immediately said. Everybody turned quiet again. Suddenly Jarvis voice sounded though the intercom.

"Sir, Agent Romanoff is at the door. Do you want me to let her in?"

Tony walked over to the wall and pushed a button so he could speak to Natasha Romanoff.

"Long time no seen, Natasha! What brings you here on this beautiful day?" he asked as nonchalant as possible. A deep sigh sounded from the other side of the intercom.

"Don't play stupid, Tony! I know Loki is there with you! Let me in!"

"How do I know you're not working on behalf of SHIELD? Because if you're here to shoot us up, then this day is going to end bad for both of us. We don't want that, do we…"

"I thought you knew me better than that, Tony! When are you going to learn that I choose my own assignments! I'm just trying to decided which side I'm on this time. SHIELD doesn't even know I'm here!"

Tony looked at the others in the room. One by one they nodded in agreement.

"Come in sweetheart…" Tony said before letting go of the button.

A sudden cough dragged everyone's attention back to Loki. The young king looked paler then ever before. Thor checked Loki's pulse.

"Bruce, he's extremely cold!"

Bruce walked over to Loki and checked his pulse too. Tony crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Well, he is a frost giant, isn't he…" the billionaire said in an attempt to be funny, but nobody was listening.

"He's losing to much blood!" Bruce concluded. "I suppose that that is a main cause why he's not healing. The reason why Gods heal so much faster must be in the blood. He's losing more than he can produce…"

"Can you use mine?" Thor immediately asked. Bruce looked up.

"That depends on your blood group and Loki's…"

Thor looked at the scientist as if he were speaking Chinese. "I don't think Gods work with blood groups…" Thor said after a couple of seconds. "Just do it…"

Thor walked over to Loki and pulled up his sleeve.

"Wait!" Bruce called out. "If you don't have the same blood group, Loki could die…"

"Well, there is more chance that he will survive if I do share my blood!" Thor responded. "I'm prepared to take that risk!"

Bruce hesitated for a couple of seconds but decided to obey the God. He walked over to a closet and took a syringe and a drip. As fast as he could he put the needle into Thor's underarm and attached the drip to Loki's arm.

"I'm not sure I'm doing this right, I'm not this kind of Doctor!" Bruce said while he was working.

"You're doing great, Doctor Banner…" Jarvis suddenly answered.

"Great, taught by a robot…." Bruce muttered while he let the blood flow from Thor to Loki's arm.

Jane watched everything without saying a word. She'd never been really great with blood and now she saw it flowing, she only just managed to keep her donut down.

At that moment, Natasha Romanoff entered. Her eyes scanned the room bit by bit. When she saw Loki on the table, she couldn't keep a small smile of her face.

"All right, can someone please explain the situation?" she asked after a while. Jane took her chance and walked out of the lab with Natasha in her wake. When they came back ten minutes later, Loki was starting to heal, finally. Natasha looked over at the young king and scowled.

"For now, I'm at your side!" she said to Thor. "But if he as much as threatens me, I'm out."

Thor nodded thankfully.

Stark and Banner were whispering to each other. They'd both thought the same thing: what if Loki woke up? What would he do… They were discussing if they would secure the young king or not, because only God knew how he would react.

Jarvis scanned Loki once more and informed everyone that there was no damage inside his body, not anymore anyway but the Tesseract Energy didn't seem to decrease. Bruce waited a couple more minutes before he detached Thor and Loki.

Natasha set silently in the corner of the room and watched the young king's every breath, ready to grab her gun at any time. She'd been in bed after an fourteen hour flight from Afghanistan to New York where she'd had her latest assignment, when a new message from SHIELD came in. At first she wanted to ignore it, but when she heard that Loki had been spotted, she'd been all ears and forgot about her jetlag. Natasha had seen images of what had happened, after which she'd decided to investigate the situation herself before choosing a side. It wouldn't be the first time that SHIELD got it wrong…

But Loki… Natasha wasn't going to lie: she didn't have any sympathy for the God of Mischief. The only reason she hadn't killed him yet was because of Thor and Jane.

"We have to get that Energy out!" Thor said after a while. Bruce, who had been looking at the screens which showed the scans of Loki's body, nodded.

"I agree, the Energy is burning him up from the inside, literally! It's exactly what the Energy does to normal humans, but it's slowed down because he heals as fast as he's burning…"

Tony nodded and crossed his arms. "Personally I think he deserves it, but since I seem to be the only one, there's only one question left: how do we do that?"

Both scientist looked at Thor as if they expected him to know the answer. Thor frowned.

"I don't know! There's a reason why the Tesseract was hidden in a grave. My father may have known the answer, my mother perhaps, but I don't. There's a chance Loki knows, though…"

"Well that's not really helpful!" Bruce said while pushing his glasses further on his nose. His eyes kept drifting off to the screens where he could see the blue Tesseract Energy eat away Loki's insides. What would happen if it reached his heart. Would the God be able to grow himself a new heart?

According to the scans, Loki was losing the fight. Every second they could see how the damage increased. Thor rubbed his eyes. Loki was actually dying this time, in the most painful way he could imagine…

(MEMORY)

"Why Loki? Why did you do it? What in the world has gotten into you, my son?"

Frigga, Queen of Asgard, set in the silent garden of the palace and stared at the colourful fish in the bright water. She just couldn't understand what had happened. And why? Everything was wrong! The sun was shining, the birds where singing, the fish were happily swimming in the same lousy way they'd done the day before… Why did it look like no one shared her sadness… except for Thor of course. Even though he tried to hide it…

A lonely tear made its way across her cheeks. Only one day before, Loki had fallen into the void, created by the Bifröst. One day without her son… one day to much…

Frigga had always known that Loki had been jealous of his brother, but never thought that it would end like this. Oh and how she blamed herself for not telling Loki the truth. All she wanted was for Loki not to feel discriminated.

-xxx-

Thor watched his mother in the garden. The same garden where he and Loki used to play as kids. Thor wanted to cry, but he had the feeling he'd run out of tears. Life seemed extremely empty and dull without his brother's constant sneering and his jokes. Had Loki always been jealous of him? How could he have missed that?

It was his fault! Thor was certain of that. Loki had been jealous of HIM! HE had driven him to this! HE had destroyed the Bifröst and by doing that HE'd created the void. Loki's death was on him…

A slim hand touched Thor's shoulder. For a second he saw Jane standing behind him, but when he turned around, he looked into the worried eyes of Lady Sif.

"Thor…" she said in a whisper. "At least try to get your mind of things… why don't you come with us… we are going on a ride…"

Thor turned fixed his attention on his mother again and shook his head. Whatever the female warrior said, she couldn't change Thor's mind. Lady Sif sight and left. Somewhere in her heart she felt the cold stab of jealousy. That mortal had taken Thor away from her. Sif shook her head. How could she! Loki was dead! And even though she had lost her sympathy for the God of Mischief over the last years, she still felt the loss of her long lost friend.

-xxx-

"Mother…" a low voice sounded. Frigga looked up, startled. She always tried to keep herself strong when her sons were around. Thor clearly seemed hurt by the tears on her face. The Queen quickly wiped her cheeks and tried to smile. Somewhere she wished Loki would turn up and drive his brother mad, but the garden stayed silent.

"Thor, my son…" Frigga said in a broken voice, while Thor set down next to her under the pavilion. She took his hand and gently squeezed it. Thor smiled softly in return. Both of them stayed silent for a couple of minutes, staring at the fish in the water who annoyed both of them more every second.

"I'm sorry, mother…" Thor finally said. Frigga couldn't keep the tears from flowing anymore, so she let them be.

"It's not your fault… It is no one's fault, not even Loki's…" she said even though she blamed herself.

"How am I supposed to be king if Loki's not there to stand at my side, to counsel me, fight with me… rule with me… I never was and never will be capable to be the King of Asgard without him…"

A single tear left Thor's right eye and dropped on his lap. He'd never shown his fears to anyone, but know that they were about to come true, he couldn't keep pretending.

Frigga frowned and held Thor's hand even tighter between her fingers.

"Do not say that… You will do great! Just keep Loki's memory alive and you will be the grandest king that ever lived…"

Frigga went quiet. She too had hoped Loki would be there to guide Thor when he became king. The two of them always completed each other perfectly. The Queen also knew that Odin thought the same thing and therefore he'd decided to delay Thor's crowning.

Thor swallowed. He fixed his eyes back on the pond. Really, that one big red fish was annoying him! How could that thing have the right to swim happily while he and his mother where mourning over the death of his brother! Thor opened his palm. In his hand he was holding a small dagger. One of Loki's daggers. Furiously he threw the weapon towards the water. He missed and hit a smaller yellow fish right of the big, irritating red one. Thor sighed. Even when he tried he got the wrong one killed… The God of Thunder had never been really good with daggers… Loki had been…

Loki never missed…

(END MEMORY)

Thor couldn't believe he was going through this again. And this time, he couldn't go and talk to anyone… Jane maybe… And what about Frigga? She would never get over Loki's death! Thor looked down on his brother.

"Wake up, brother…" he whispered silently. On the screens the Energy seemed to make its way towards Loki's heart as if it were a race. Everyone in the room turned silent and the only sound came from the lowering bleeping of the scanner which registered Loki's heart rhythm.

"Please wake up…" Thor repeated in a broken voice.

To his and the others' surprise Loki opened his eyes…

* * *

**So... I hope you like it... I'm going on holiday and I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload anything there... but I'll be writing ;)**

**Please review! :)**

**And enjoy!**

**Rumple x**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey! I managed to get my hands on some internet! So ... ENJOY**

* * *

_**Chapter 17**_

Loki stared at the white panels on the ceiling as if he looked upon the world for the very first time. His eyes searched the room bit by bit while he slowly tried to move his limbs. First he focused on Thor, who seemed to be standing over his body, looking at him with a mixture of relief, surprise, concern and fear in his bright blue eyes. On the other end of the table, he spotted Jane, who watched Loki with her mouth hanging half open. Just as the young king started wondering where he was, his eyes fell on Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, standing in the middle of the room. They both stared at the God of Mischief with fear, but also interest reflected in their eyes. In the corner of the room there was someone else sitting, but Loki couldn't see who it was.

A voice in Loki's head warned him that he was in Stark Tower, but for some reason the young king ignored it. He had a lot more interesting facts to care about… For example: the immense power that was rushing through his veins…

Thor swallowed and quickly shared a look with Tony, Bruce and Natasha to warn them not to attack. The God of Thunder looked down again and tried to say something, but Loki had taken him by surprise, so nothing came out. On the screens around them, everyone could witness the ongoing destruction of Loki's insides but the young king didn't seem to feel anything. On the contrary! A creepy smile, Thor had hoped never to see again, appeared on his brother's face while he slowly lifted his hands to inspect them.

"Loki…" Thor said after a couple of seconds in an attempt to get the young king's attention, but he didn't react. Loki softly rubbed his fingertips together. A small flash accompanied by a crisping noise sounded through the room. It almost seemed as if he was energized.

Thor started panicking. The thing that worried him and the other's in the room most was the fact that Loki's eyes were bright Tesseract blue. Especially Agent Romanoff freaked out. The memory of Hawkeye was still very clear before her eyes. Her hand slowly made its way towards the cold fabric of her gun.

"Loki… please tell me you know how to get the Energy out…" Thor said. He knew his voice sounded desperate and he knew that it was useless to ask this of Loki, especially in Loki's state, but what else could he do?

The young king suddenly set up straight and with one swift move he stood next to the table. Slowly he looked over to his brother and smiled once more. Never he had felt this powerful! Everyone in the room froze.

"Get. It. Out?" Loki repeated in a whisper, just loud enough so everyone could hear it. Thor shivered of Loki's voice.

"You must be kidding, brother…" Loki continued.

"But do you know how to get it out?" Thor asked after a couple of seconds. In his heart he was scared to death, but he also understood that Loki could be possessed. If he managed to talk him into this, everything could turn out fine…

Loki grinned. "Of course…" he said. "I! Know! Everything!"

Thor nodded and watch his brother breathing in excitement. Loki wasn't kidding, though… The moment he had opened his eyes, he had known everything! He could see the whole universe and every other universe in existence as if there was a map inside his head. He understood the meaning of everything! He could read a trillion minds! He! Knew! Everything! Oh Yes! Loki felt like the most powerful being in existence and he liked it!

"Then do it!" Thor said not able to hide the fear in his voice. Unfortunately Loki only smiled his evil smile and shook his head.

"Oh, brother… you never understood, did you? I was born to wield this power!"

"It's consuming you! Look at the screens!" Thor shouted pointing at the monitors. Behind Loki he could see Natasha getting on her feet, deciding if she would attack or not.

"It's making me stronger!" Loki immediately shouted back. "Strong enough to finally kill you!"

Loki wanted to raise his hands to attack when a silent, yet obvious clicking of a gun, immediately followed by another kind of clicking sounded behind him. With a smile, the young king turned around to face Tony, who had put on his suit again and raised his weapons on him, and Agent Romanoff, who was holding her gun, ready to shoot.

Loki wasn't impressed. He grinned.  
"I thought I made myself clear last time, metal man…" Loki said.

Tony smirked.  
"Right, by sweeping the floor, I guess…"

Loki scowled. For a second a green flash lit up his blue eyes. Tony's smile faded when he heard Jarvis voice in his ear.

"_Danger! We're overheating, sir!" _

The iron man suit started… melting! Immediately Tony pushed the boiling suit of his body.

A frightening scowl covered the young king's face.  
"Oops.." he said in a high voice.

Loki's eyes now fixed on Banner, who watched the scene completely paralyzed.  
"Your turn, mister Banner…" Loki added just before both Tony and Bruce were thrown backwards against the wall. Immediately Natasha opened fire on the God who was standing only a few steps away from her. But the bullets never hit target.

For Loki it was almost too easy! First of all, he could predict Agent Romanoff's action moments before, but next to that, he also saw everything.. well.. happening! The moment Natasha closed her finger around the trigger, Loki turned towards her and everything went in slow-motion. The bullet left the gun and all Loki had to do was follow it through the air and bring it to a halt in between him and Natasha. Unfortunately for the other's it didn't go in slow motion, so Natasha just waited for Loki to at least take a step back because of the impact of the bullet, while she heard Tony and Bruce hit the wall painfully, before dropping unconscious on the ground.

Loki smiled when he saw how Natasha's eyes slowly fixed on the floating bullet in the middle of the room. Another five shots sounded through the air, but no bullet found its way towards Loki's head. Natasha's eyes grew big and even though she understood that her gun wouldn't have any effect on the God, she refused to drop her weapon.

Loki blinked and the bullets dropped on the floor.

"Natasha Romanoff…" the young king sneered. "My favourite assassin…. How's your ledger doing…"

Natasha tried hard to keep up her poker face, but she knew a sign of fear was visible in her eyes.

"You really think you can stop me?" Loki asked.

For the first time in her life, Natasha didn't know what to do. What could she do?

"Loki! Stop this!" Thor shouted from behind him. The young king turned around, his creepy blue eyes scanning the room.

"You can't stop me, brother…" Loki said while he slowly made his way back to the table. At the other side of the room, Tony and Bruce started waking up again.

"After all this time, I finally c…" Loki was cut off when a sudden song sounded from the other room…

"_Are you ready kids?"  
"Aye Aye Captain!"  
"I can't hear you!"  
"Aye Aye Captain!"  
"Ooooooh… Who lives in a pineapple under the sea!"_

A careful giggle followed.

Loki froze on the spot. Suddenly his head was filled with two voices. Both were his own… at least he thought it was his own. Loki looked down at his body and afterwards scanned the room. What in the world had happened! Where was he? An ice cold, yet dangerously familiar shiver made its way down his spine. Loki blinked. In front of him he saw Thor, looking at him confusedly, but the image kept blurring.. and where was this headache coming from.

Loki tried to breath, but he felt as if his longs had disappeared. An extreme, unnatural pain took hold of the young kings' body. It was almost like he was burning from the inside! Loki fought off the urge to faint. Black spots were covering his view and a weird kind of force tried to push him back, locked away in his own head. Loki wanted to scream, but nothing came over his lips

And then he noticed it. The incredible, familiar power rushing through his veins, wanting to take over his mind. An uncontrollable fear took hold of the young king. The more he tried to resist the Tesseract, the more his body seemed to burn and turn to ice at the same time. He searched for breath, but his lungs were barely functioning.

Loki tried to remember what had happened, but all he saw were a pair of bright, terrified blue eyes and a high pitched scream.

_Frigga…_he thought while trying to fight off the fear. He couldn't let the Tesseract take over. Who knew what would happen this time…

He looked up.

-xxx-

The moment Thor had heard his daughter's laughter, he knew something was different. Loki froze and seemed to hesitate. Suddenly his brother looked up. The blue had disappeared showed Loki's terrified light grey eyes.

"Loki…" he whispered. "Please…"

The young king opened his mouth to answer but he couldn't find the air to speak. Never, ever had Thor seen someone in so much pain.

And then, as fast as it had disappeared, the Tesseract blue lit Loki's eyes back up. The pain and fear faded and Loki's evil sneer covered his face once more.

The young king sniffed and drew his hair back.  
"That was close…" he said, not able to hide the surprise in his voice.

"Let go, Loki!" Thor hissed between clenched teeth. "Or should I say: let him go!"

Loki exhaled as if he was growing tired of their argument.  
"Him or me… what does it matter… we're the same person! I am the same person!"

"No, you're not! Not anymore!"

Loki scowled. "You know nothing of me, Thor Odinson! You called me a criminal in the past, but you're even worse... And now you're going to pay!"

Loki stretched out his arm and Thor flew backwards until his back hit the wall. In a flash Loki stood in front of him and planted his dagger in Thor's stomach. The God of Thunder screamed when the blade cut through his flesh and turned his shirt bright red. Jane shouted and Natasha fired some more bullets which never hit target either.

Thor gasped for breath and looked down on his brother, since he was dangling a few inches of the ground.  
"Is that all you got?" he asked while he tried to smile challenging.

Loki grinned.  
"I'm not going to give you the pleasure of dying quickly, Thor Odinson! I'm going to enjoy th…"

Loki never finished his sentence. The sickening sound of metal hitting a head filled the room and Loki sank unconscious to the ground. Behind him stood Jane, paler than ever, breathing heavily, holding a steel pipe tight in her hands. Thor dropped on the ground and groaned when he pulled the dagger out of his body and dropped it next to Loki's unconscious body. He looked up at his wife.

"I love you…" he said out of breath. Jane smiled softly and lowered the pipe.

"I just thought… since Natasha hit Clint… you know… I thought.. I thought it might work on Loki… too…" the distressed woman said.

A second later Tony appeared next to them. He was holding some weird kind of gun in his arms. Just before he could shoot, Thor ripped the weapon from his hands and looked at the billionaire who seemed to be furious.

"What are you doing!" Tony shouted while Bruce and Natasha joined them.

"Don't shoot him!" Thor simply said.

"He was trying to kill you!" Natasha shouted.

Thor nodded.  
"Wow… surprise, isn't it…" he said sarcastically.

"Thor, we don't even know if hitting him on the head will help in Loki's case. We're not even sure that it even did the trick with Clint…" Bruce said while rubbing over his left arm. He'd hit the wall rather hard.

"We have to take the risk…" Thor said while he crushed the gun inside his palm.

Tony's eyes grew big. Not only had he spend quite some time developing that particular gun, he also was getting enough of these people's stupidity. Couldn't they see what Loki was!

"For God's sake! Did you miss out on the last minutes! Look at my lab!"

Tony wasn't kidding. Because Loki had been throwing bodies around the place, most of Tony's high tech lab now looked like a junk yard.

"And look at me!" the billionaire continued furiously, gesturing at the many wounds spread over his body. "He melted my unmeltable suit!"

Everyone else in the room glanced over at each other and sighed almost invisible while Tony kept on complaining.

Suddenly a low groaning sounded from the ground.

"Holy sh.." Loki moaned.

CLENG!

"Jane!" Thor shouted. His wife stood in front of him, eyes closed while she held a tight grip on the pipe. She cautiously opened her eyes again and looked at the - again – unconscious body of the God of Mischief. She looked up and bit her lip.

"Sorry…" she said. "It just happened…"

Thor turned with his eyes, but he seemed to be the only one who wanted Loki to wake up again. The God of Thunder grabbed the pipe and threw it to the other side of the room. He wasn't angry. In fact, he was rather amused.

"There is only one way to find out if Jane's magnificent swing had any effect!" he said while glancing over at everyone in the room. Tony shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Can I remind you that you are in my house! That piece of Mischief has to leave right n…"

Tony was interrupted when a low groaning sounded from the ground. Natasha lifted her useless gun, Jane searched her lost pipe and Tony realised he was quite defenceless at the moment. Thor took a step back, just in case… He looked down.

"What the…" Loki moaned while he tried to orientate and remember. His insides started burning again. Breathing became impossible, but Loki refused to give in. After what seemed ages, the young king managed to find his arms and hands. Now it was only a matter of finding his legs, so he could get up, but the burning made it almost impossible to think. All he knew was that someone had hit him. Twice, if he recalled it correctly. Who in the world had the nerve to hit him!

Loki tried to push himself to his knees, but someone was faster. A strong hand grabbed the young king by his shirt and pulled him on what he supposed were his feet. The hand let go, but grabbed him again when Loki almost fell again. The young king didn't like to depend on someone else, especially depending on someone just remain standing, but he still desperately grabbed the arm in an attempt to stay on his feet. The world was turning in every direction possible and he was quite sure that if he fell again, he would definitely faint on the spot. Next to that, breathing was almost impossible and the burning inside continued. Why didn't he just die! It would all be over!

Somewhere far away he heard voice call his name, at least he thought it was his name… The hand was shaking him.. why?

-xxx-

Thor tried to get his brother to focus, but the young king seemed far away. All he could see was how Loki was suffering.

"Loki!" Thor shouted while he started shaking the young king. "Focus!"

Jane stood next to her husband. She wasn't scared anymore, only worried. She didn't know what was happening, she couldn't do anything and she didn't like it.

-xxx-

Loki heard someone calling his name again and again, but the pain just made it impossible to find the source. Still, Loki had finally managed to remember what had happened. Now he'd found a reason for the strange pressure he felt everywhere in his body. The blow to his head had forced the Tesseract Energy out of his brains, but now it was up to him to resist it again. The fear which was building up every second came in very handy.

"_Focus ,Loki!"_ he heard somewhere in the far distance. Yes, focus… Sure, but on what?

_Frigga… _it suddenly sounded through Loki's head. He'd heard her voice, her laugh…

"Loki!" the voice sounded again, this time accompanied by a slap in his face.

_Thor… _Loki thought. When Loki realised he was holding on to his brother's arm, he immediately let go… only to grab it again because his legs were still sucking at being legs.

"Loki, please, try to focus! You need to get it out!"

Thor's voice sounded desperately so Loki understood that he probably wasn't imagining the burning of his insides. Slowly the room took form in front of Loki's eyes. The first thing he saw were Thor's worried blue eyes.

"Please tell me you know how to get it out!"

Loki tried to smile, but that didn't really work out. "You underestimate me, brother…"

"This is no time for jokes, Loki!" Thor shouted. "Get it out!"

Loki shut his eyes when a new wave of pain roared through his body. Dark spots appeared at the sides of his view. Clearly, Thor could see Loki's eyes turn away, so he shook his brother once more. Loki groaned in agony. The Tesseract was winning and he could feel it.

"I can't…" Loki said after a couple of painful seconds. "I can't get it out! It needs host…"

Thor turned even paler and let go of Loki's clothes. The young king sank to the ground.

"Then use me!" The God of Thunder shouted furiously. He couldn't believe Loki had done this while he knew what would happen right from the beginning.

"No!" Jane immediately shouted.

Loki grinned.  
"No chance…" the young king added in a whisper.

Thor kneeled down. "But you're the king!"

Loki nodded. He couldn't find the strength to speak anymore.

"You can't die of the Tesseract!" Thor suddenly said a lot calmer now. "I mean… that's just absurd!"

"I would call it ironical…" Tony said just before Thor's fist hit his face.

Both brothers stayed silent for a moment. Thor knew there was nothing he could do anymore. Nothing he said would change Loki's mind. Maybe it was time for Loki to die… Third time, good time…

"You're dooming me, brother…" Thor said after a couple of seconds while trying not to cry. "You know how I think about being king!"

Loki smiled softly. "You finally got me… Years of planning all led to bullying you one last time…"

Thor grinned. "I should have known…"

A short silence filled the room once more, only interrupted by Tony's wining over his broken nose.

Thor lay one hand on his brother's shoulder and smiled. "You will say hi from me, won't you?"

Loki closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't think I'm going where she is…"

Thor swallowed and smiled softly.

"I'm quite sure you are…" he answered silently.

* * *

**So what do you think ;) **

**Let me know! I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	19. Chapter 18

**Before everybody starts hating me... here's the next one! ENJOY**

* * *

_**Chapter 18**_

"I've got an idea!" Jane suddenly called out, making everbody jump a foot in the air. Before anyone could ask what she was talking about, she disappeared to her lab which was one floor down. Thirty seconds later she was back again, holding a small, transparent box in her hand. It wasn't much bigger than a dice. Tony who was still trying to stop his nose from bleeding, made a excited noise when he understood Jane's idea, but the scientist ignored her boss. Bruce nodded. He understood too. A couple of seconds later he also understood Tony's reaction. He frowned…

Thor didn't understand at all. He looked up from his dying brother – who followed his stare – and waited for his wife to explain. Jane kneeled next to her husband.

"You can store it in here!" she said to Loki who was clearly having trouble with holding his eyes open.  
"We use these cubes in the Energy Converter. It can store an unlimited amount of Energy and convert in to whatever we want kind of energy we need…"

Thor frowned. He didn't quite understand yet, but he thought it was great. This was Loki's chance!

But the young king smiled and shook his head almost invisible. "You must think I'm stupid…"

Thor looked at his brother in disbelief. "What in heaven's name are you talking about! Do you want to die!"

Loki smiled and closed his eyes for second when a new pain wave raged through his body.

"You just said you use these cubes for your research!" he explained. " I give you the Tesseract Energy and you have everything you need to complete you idiotic plans!"

Jane and Thor shared a look. Honestly, Jane hadn't even thought about that possibility. Now that Loki mentioned it, she couldn't help but feel excited about it, but Thor's eyes made her change her mind.

"I promise I won't use it…" Jane said with pain in her heart, but Tony was quick to interfere. He grabbed the cube from Jane's palm.

"No!" he exclaimed. "This is one of my tools! If Mr. Reindeer here wants to use it, he has to live with the consequences!"

"Tony!" Jane called out furiously, but Stark wasn't going to give up that fast.

"Jane!" he said with an excited flickering in his eyes which only appeared when he'd finally found the solution for a problem he'd been working on for months. "Don't you see! We'll finally be able to finish our work! To build a unlimited power source! Please! I know you're thinking it too!"

Jane opened her mouth to answer, but Loki was first. He was using all of his strength and anger to keep the Tesseract Energy under control. How stupid could someone be!

"You imbecil! Don't you see what the Tesseract can do! You're going to destroy your own world!"

Tony looked down on the God of Mischief. "I'm not building a Tesseract, only an unlimited power source!"

"Don't lecture me, metal man! When are you going to understand that you won't be able to control it! If you use Tesseract Energy as a prototype, you eventually make a knew Tesseract! Stop being such a puny fool! If you use this Energy, I will have to stop you and you don't stand a chance against Asgard!"

Loki had never felt so much hate for someone, accept his brother of course… From all puny, unimportant, irritating human beings, Stark must have been one of the few with some brains! He should understand!

Loki shivered and breathed out. A small cloud of blue Energy left his lips and floated into the room. The Tesseract was making its way up again. In a few minutes, Loki wouldn't be able to resist any longer. Not that he would make it that far. The Energy would have killed him by then…

The young king looked at his surroundings. Honestly, he'd never though it would end like this… here… on Earth, of all places, in Stark Tower, surrounded by his former enemies… Great!

Loki closed his eyes. Thor was calling his name, Jane was crying and Tony was hesitating, but the young king didn't care anymore. He just wanted to die. Slowly all sounds faded away, the pain disappeared and the darkness took hold of the God of Mischief…

-xxx-

"Loki…" a voice sounded through the darkness, but it wasn't Thor's or Jane's… No, it was a voice Loki only heard in his dreams if he was lucky. A voice he'd feared to forget. A voice he'd missed and craved for…

The young king opened his eyes. He wasn't in Stark Tower anymore and he would have been completely alone if it wasn't for the beautiful, smiling woman in front of him. Loki felt a tear run down his cheek. He couldn't believe his eyes. Did this mean he was dead?

"My son…" Frigga, former Queen of Asgard, said while she reached out for Loki's hand.

The young king cautiously took hold of her soft fingers and let his mother pull him to his feet. That's when he realised he was smaller than his mother. Loki looked down on his body. He was younger! A child! The younger version of himself.

Wait… was this a memory? Loki looked around him, but there was nothing to see, but a golden light. There was no sky or floor. They just seemed to float around in … well, nothing. Yet, Loki could still feel something solid beneath his feet.

"Why are you crying, my son?" Frigga asked, but her words didn't quite found their way through. Loki was too busy looking at his mother. She was so beautiful and she seemed so happy. Frigga laughed and bowed forward to wipe of his tears.

"Your dead…" Loki heard himself say.

Frigga smiled.  
"Only if you want me too.."

"Am I dead?"

Loki couldn't stop himself from sounding hopeful... Dying would be so easy at the moment. He would give everything in the world to just stay here – where ever 'here' was – away from all the pain and suffering.

"Only if you want to…" Frigga answered. The usual glimmer in her eyes faded for a second.

Loki pulled up his eyebrows. Frigga turned around and started walking. Their surroundings changed and Loki found himself in one of Asgard gardens'. Not the annoying – fish garden, but it was a garden Frigga always used to go when Loki wanted to talk to her in private.

Loki blinked confusedly. Maybe this was a memory after all, but when he looked around, he knew it couldn't be, because besides them, there was no one to be seen and nothing to be heard. No guards, no warriors practising in the distance… Just Frigga and Loki.

The young king ran after his mother.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

Frigga didn't answer and Loki knew he had to be patient, so he just waited and strolled next to his mother for a couple of minutes, enjoying the sight of Asgard that wasn't Asgard. Suddenly the Queen of Asgard stopped by a small pond. There were no fish in it, but it still seemed full of life. Loki, who hadn't expect the sudden stop, turned around and walked a few steps back. He looked up at his mother and waited.

"It's not your time yet, my son…" she said after a couple of seconds, the pain and sadness in her voice noticeably.

"I think I can decide myself when my time has come…" Loki said before he could stop himself. Despite of him being a child, his mind was still his own.

Frigga looked down on her son and smiled softly. "Exactly… Therefore you should understand why I'm telling you this…"

Loki shook his head. He wanted to answer, but his mother was first.

"You have so much more to give, my son! Not only to Asgard, but also to the other realms, to their inhabitants, to Thor and to little Frigga…"

"But that's not fair!" the young king shouted. Why was she saying this! Nobody wanted anything from him! He was the bad guy, after all! Asgard, the other realms.. little Frigga.. they all deserved so much better! Everyone would be better off if he was dead. At least this way he died doing something good…

"You're the king of Asgard, Loki. And Asgard needs you more than you think… You're their king and…"

"But I don't want to be king anymore!" Loki shouted. A short silence filled the air and the young king couldn't believe what he'd just said. Frigga kneeled before her son and wiped off the new tears that had started flowing down his cheeks again. Loki hadn't even noticed. His mother smiled kindly.

"I think you do…"

Loki shook his head. "It's boring!" he said softly.

"Trust me, my son. Very soon, you won't find it boring anymore…" Frigga said mysteriously. Loki frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Frigga smiled and got to her feet again. She put one loving hand on Loki's raven hair.

"Everything has it's time…" she said. Before Loki could ask anything else, she turned around and continued her walk. Loki had to run to keep up.

"My son, there are dangers out their only you can face. You must return to Asgard.. your people will need you…"

"But Thor won't let me and even if he would… I lose his trust the minute he finds out the truth about… well… everything…"

"Your brother will understand…" Frigga answered simply.

"Thor is too stupid to understand!"

Frigga smiled softly. "There is more to Thor than you think, Loki…"

The young king sniffed. "Right…" he said sarcastically.

"There is also more to you than you think…"

Loki looked up. Only one year ago he had agreed completely, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. He should have inspected the earth a bit better. Never, ever he should have allowed Tesseract Energy to remain under the surface. Why didn't Heimdall told him this? Even worse! The Tesseract Energy was their because of him in the first place. He'd almost got Frigga killed! It was only logical that he sacrificed himself to lock away the Energy. That way it couldn't harm anyone and that idiot of a Stark wouldn't be able to use it.

"Can't I just stay here, with you?" Loki asked after a couple of seconds. He knew he was being selfish, but that was just the way he was! He was selfish! He had told Thor the truth, right? And he had saved them! So why wouldn't he be allowed to be selfish now!

"I am not even here, my son, and you know that!"

"What do you mean! What is this!" Loki asked desperately. He wanted to stay so badly! It didn't matter if he would have to spend his time here trapped his younger body!

"You know what it is, Loki! You just have to accept it…"

"But that's not fair!" Loki screamed a second time. This time he felt how his tears started flowing once more, but he didn't care.

His mother turned around and looked her son straight in the eye. She put her hand on Loki's cheek and forced him to keep looking at her.

"My son, you've suffered more than anyone should in a lifetime. It is every mother's wish that her child is safe, happy and without pain. I am sorry I was not capable of accomplishing that… But I know you can take it! Don't let your hatred and grief be your guide. You are capable of so much more!"

"How would you know?" Loki answered angrily. He didn't want to be so blunt, especially not to his mother, but he just hated this!

"I have always known how special you are, Loki. Don't you dare to question that! I loved you and I will always keep loving you, no matter what may happen. One day we will be together again, but right know Asgard and your family need you!"

"I don't have a family!" Loki called out furiously. A sudden grief filled Frigga's eyes.

"You know that is not true, my son. And you know you have to go back…"

"But why would I do that!" the young king shouted desperately.

Frigga smiled.  
"Look down, my son…"

Loki frowned, but obeyed. Through the tears in his eyes he looked at his feet. To his surprise he was no longer a child. He looked up and found he was now as tall as he used to be. He wanted to ask what was happening, but the words got stuck in his throat. Frigga smiled sadly.

"Because that is who you are, Loki..." she said with obvious pain in her voice.

Loki looked down in his mother's eyes. She was obviously trying not to cry when she pulled him closer and hugged her son tightly.

"I love you so much, Loki. And I am so proud of you.."

Loki closed his eyes and softly put his arms around his mother. He smelled and tasted his salty tears in the fabric on her shoulder. He smelled her golden hair as if she'd never been gone. He felt her thin fingers on his back, desperately shivering, hoping she'd never had to let go. He heard her voice in his ear while his surrounding slowly faded into darkness...

-xxx-

The cold air touched his skin while Loki tried to suck the metal flavoured air into his burning longs. What had happened? Loki couldn't remember. All he could remember was that warm feeling he'd missed so much.

Thor sat in front of his brother. The tears where streaming from his eyes. He kept shouting Loki's name, but the young king didn't react any more. Loki had closed his eyes and stopped breathing the moment he'd tried to stop Tony. Jane was trying to pull her husband away from his brother's body, but the God of Thunder held onto Loki as if he was scared that he would disappear the moment he let go.

Loki groaned silently. He would do anything to just let go and die, but for some reason he knew he couldn't. The noises around him started to make sense again. Cautiously the young king opened his eyes.

Thor couldn't belief it. Loki was breathing… well, if you could call it breathing of course. When his brother opened his eyes he felt more relieved than ever and had to suppress the urge to hug his brother.

Loki groaned once more.  
"Stop crying you useless dimwit! Give me that cube before I change my mind!"

Jane let go of her husband's shoulder and rushed towards Tony. The billionaire was completely awe struck by the series of events, so she just ripped the cube from his grasp and ran back to Loki.

"Swear it on Frigga's life, you'll stop building a _wanne-be-Tesseract…"_ the young king said before taking the cube from Jane. She looked down on the God in disbelief. How could he ask that of her… The scientist understood Loki wasn't kidding and that she didn't have a choice. Loki liked Frigga as much as everybody else, so if he required this big of a promise, he probably knew what he was doing. Maybe the Tesseract was more dangerous than she and Tony had expected. Jane bit her lip, but nodded.

"I swear…" she said.

Loki looked Jane in the eye to make sure she was telling the truth, but there was no question she did. So after another breath of pain he let Jane put the cube in his hand. Now it was only a matter of concentration and hoping that he wouldn't die before he was finished.

Loki closed his eyes and tried to remember the warm feeling he'd felt when he'd woken up. If only he could remember where he knew it from…the young king took a deep breath and focused on the raging Energy in his body. Slowly he felt how the Tesseract Energy concentrated in the upper part of his body. Loki opened his eyes again and stared at the cube. Now came the most difficult part: forcing it out.

The young king ignored his brother's worried face, Jane's interest, Tony who'd found out his nose was still bleeding, Natasha who was trying to decide if he was the good guy now and Bruce who was still not sure what to think of everything. The room didn't matter anymore, only the cube. Sound faded and everything else blurred until only Loki's heartbeat and desperate breathing filled the air.

_I love you, Loki…_ a voice sounded through the young king's mind. He didn't know where it came from or who it belonged to, but it gave him the strength to force the Energy out. Slowly, a blue layer of pure Energy floated away from Loki's skin and made its way towards the small cube, which sucked it inside as a hungry animal. Everywhere on the young king's chest and arms, new waves of Tesseract Energy appeared and were drawn inside the cube where it tumbled and turned and formed a tiny swirling whirl.

Loki heard his heartbeat raise every second. The Energy clearly didn't want to leave his body and was tearing his insides apart in a desperate attempt to stay. Loki wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the air, so he tried even harder to banish every single last bit of Energy out of his body. Darkness was creeping in on his view, voices echoed around him, but the words made no sense. His heart was failing, his longs were gone, he couldn't think…

And then it was over. Loki realised he'd squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the end would come quickly. Was he dead? The pain was still there, even though it seemed to reduce, but he could be imagining that too. Hesitatingly, the young king tried to breath. It was difficult, but not impossible. So he checked his heartbeat. To his surprise his heart was actually starting to stabilize. Somewhere in the distance, Loki could hear voices which seemed to make sense again. Was that Thor's voice?

"Loki!" he heard, but it all sounded a bit far away as if he'd just woken up after a 'really great' party.

Cautiously, Loki opened his eyes. The light attacked him violently, but he forced himself to stay awake. Slowly the room started to shape itself in front of his eyes. Faces appeared. Thor's face was closest. His brother had never looked so worried, at least the young king couldn't remember a time Thor had looked that worried. Jane was looking over her husband's shoulder and seemed relieved, even though she was as pale as death.

"What?" the young king said with a forced smile on his face. "You didn't expect me to actually die, did you? I thought you said you knew me, brother…"

Thor grinned with tears in his eyes and before Loki could stop him, he threw his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly. The young king gasped for breath when Thor pushed the little air out of his lungs.

Before Loki could say anything, Thor'd already let go, grinning from ear to ear. The young king stared at him in surprise while he sucked a new portion of air inside his lungs. He cleared his sore throat.

"Don't you ever do that again!" he said.

Thor laughed. "What? We hugged as kids, didn't we…"

"You call that a hug…" Loki answered with a painful scowl.

Both brothers looked at each other and smiled. Thor offered Loki his hand and drew the young king to his feet. This time Loki managed to remain standing. On the screen he could see how his insides were recovering. Loki sniffed and looked at the now blue cube in his palm. Pure hatred covered his face.

"What are you going to do with it?" Thor asked after a couple of seconds.

"It's coming back to Asgard with me…" Loki answered darkly.

Thor frowned. "You think that's wise? It might give the Tesseract more power…"

"Well, it's not staying in earth!" Loki interrupted his brother. With one swift move of his hand the cube had disappeared.

The young king looked around him. Tony, Bruce and Natasha were staring at the scene in front of them, every single one of them not fully able no hide the fear in their eyes. Loki smiled.

"Boo…" he said with a playful grin playing on his lips. Thor sighed.

"Loki, please…"

The young king pulled up his eyebrows in fake innocence.

A sudden high pitched scream sounded through the room when Frigga came running through the door, straight towards Loki. The little girl threw her arms around The God of Mischief's waist and buried her face and tears in his clothes. Loki stumbled backwards. That was the second person to hug him within two minutes. Weird…

* * *

**I know, a bit short, but I still hope you enjoyed it! **

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	20. Chapter 19

**It took a while, but I still hope you like it :) ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 19**_

"What do you mean: I can't leave!" Loki shouted furiously while pacing up and down the living room above Stark's lab. Outside, the sky had turned dark red while the sun set. Thor, who was sitting in a couch facing the windows sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Please, Loki! Try to understand! SHIELD is downstairs! We just can't leave the building…"

"Since when do you care about people standing in your way?"

"Since I have a family who is not immortal!" Thor shouted while getting on his feet. "We may be God's, but Jane and Frigga can be killed by a bullet, Loki!"

Loki wanted to shout that they didn't need to get in danger, but he knew that Jane and especially Frigga would never just stay inside and do nothing…

The young king sighed and threw his hands in the air.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"You'll stay here until I find a way to get out! Even when they leave, SHIELD will keep a close eye on every step I take. And they won't hesitate to kill you and everyone who tries to protect you!"

"I don't need protection and I don't think SHIELD is capable of killing me…" Loki said with a scowl. Thor shook his head.

"You don't know that…"

"I thought the Avengers and SHIELD were Best Friends Forever…" Loki interrupted with a grin.

"SHIELD is not only Fury…" Thor said, ignoring Loki's sarcasm. The young king scowled when he heard Fury's name. He rather disliked the guy…

It stayed silent for a couple of minutes. Loki sighed and sat down on a couch next to Thor.

"So I'm just supposed to sit here and do nothing!"

Thor nodded, but his brother still didn't seem convinced.

"Asgard needs a king! I need to go back now!"

Thor groaned. "Why do you suddenly want to go back so badly? I mean.. I know you want to go back, but why are you in such a rush? Today or tomorrow… What is the difference…"

Loki scowled. He honestly didn't know why either… but that didn't really matter!  
"I don't know… I just have this weird feeling something is wrong… on Asgard…"

Thor pulled up his eyebrows. "Wrong? I think we would have known if something was wrong… Heimdall would have told us…"

Loki frowned. "Yes.. I got that too, but still… I mean… Why didn't Heimdall open the Bifröst when I was about to die after I absorbed all the Tesseract Energy? I know he doesn't really like me, but to let me die… I'm still his king! And I was a danger to everyone and I'm sure that we would have found an easier way to get the Energy out on Asgard…"

Thor thought about that for a moment. He had to admit it was weird indeed.

"Maybe he thought that it wasn't safe to allow more Tesseract Energy on Asgard…" The God of Thunder tried, but Loki immediately shook his head.

"That's possible, but absurd due the circumstances… And he could at least have send a team of healers down… something is wrong, I'm telling you!"

At that moment, Tony, accompanied by Bruce and Pepper walked in. The billionaire had probably never looked more irritated in his life, not to mention a little embarrassed because of the huge Band-Aid on his nose. Pepper, who hadn't really 'met' the God of Mischief yet, quickly inspected the young king. Honestly, from her point of view he didn't look that dangerous at all, but she knew better than anyone that appearances were deceptive.

"Wow… What a improvement…" Loki sneered when he saw Tony's face. The billionaire scowled, which seemed to hurt even more.

"Get out of my chair, Reindeer Games!" he said harshly. Loki smirked and made himself more comfortable, putting his feet on the cushions. Tony's cheek hardened, which only entertained the God of Mischief even more.

"What are you gonna do, metal man?" Loki asked, just before a pillow hit his face. The young king looked up at Thor and threw the pillow back.

"What is it with you and pillows, brother?"

"What is it with you and pillows in your face, _brother_?" Thor answered while catching the pillow.

"That", Tony started again, while pointing at the young king, "has to leave! Right! Now!"

Thor sighed. "He can't go anywhere, Tony… not with SHIELD following our every move…"

"I don't care! He's not staying here!" Stark shouted furiously. Thor shared a look with Pepper and Bruce, but both of them clearly hoped Loki would leave too.

"He is staying here!" he said after a couple of seconds. "It's just for a couple of days, at most!"

"Bullshit! SHIELD waits forever if necessary…"

"Tony! Loki stays here, unless you want to bring everyone here in danger! Stark Tower is the safest place in New York at the moment!" Thor interrupted.

Stark wanted to say something back, but he was rather flattered by the comment about his tower being the safest place so he shut up. Loki got up from the couch with one swift movement and walked over to Tony.

"Seems like where going to be stuck here together for a little while longer…" he said while passing by the billionaire with the most innocent smile possible on his face. "I'm sure it's going to be fun!"

Stark clenched his teeth together to stop himself from replying and just waited until Loki had left the room.

"Is he going to be such pain in the arse all of the time?" he asked irritated. Thor nodded compassionately and sighed.

-xxx-

Loki strolled in another living room where he spotted Jane and Frigga talking on the couch. They seemed to be doing some kind of game with their hands, because they kept clapping them together while singing a funny song. The young king couldn't keep a small smile of his face when he saw his niece's happy face. She'd clearly put the incidents of today behind her.

Lost in thought, Loki didn't see someone getting nearer. Before he knew it, he felt a strong hand grabbing his clothes and dragging him behind a corner. Surprisedly blinking with his eyes, Loki adjusted to the little light. Agent Romanoff was standing in front of him, obviously not very amused. Loki smiled his usual sneer.

"Agent Romanoff… never realised you cared… how nice of you to pick a darker spot…"

Natasha pushed Loki harder against the wall.

"Don't you ever think I believe a word of all that crap!"

"A bit more specific? There are lot of crappy people in this building…" Loki answered nonchalantly.

Natasha took a deep breath and reminded herself that she probably wouldn't win a fight from a God.  
"Thor thinks the Tesseract was controlling you during the Battle of New York, but I know what I saw… You're just a crazy freak!"

Loki smirked and raised his hand to softly loosen Agent Romanoff's grip.

"I take it you don't trust me… Tell me, why don't you just run to your friends downstairs… I'm sure they'll be happy to have you on their side…"

"I stay here because of the others…" Natasha started furiously, but the young king interrupted almost immediately.

"Since when do you care about anyone but yourself and your murderer friends…"

Natasha clenched her teeth together. "Don't test me, you bastard!"

Loki smiled. "Or what? What are you going to do? Kill me? Because that's what you so good at, right?"

Agent Romanoff swallowed. She didn't easily break, but Loki seemed to know exactly what hurt her… The young king continued. His smile disappeared and made place for the serious, slightly creepy expression he only used when he had to make a point crystal-clear.

"I don't care what you think of me, Agent Romanoff… I don't care how much you threaten me or what you say… You don't trust me? Fine! I don't expect anything less from a ruthless assassin!"

Natasha took a step back. She was reminded of her first talk with Loki. Even though she had been pretending, Loki had been one of the first to actually hurt and scare her. Now she just didn't seem capable of holding up very long in his presence anymore.

Loki looked the woman in front of him straight in the eyes until she looked away. Afterwards he just left her alone in the dark corner, completely overthrown and confused.

-xxx-

Loki sighed irritated.

_Humans…_he thought in disgust. _When are they going to learn that they can't get to me!_

Back in the living room, he found Frigga sleeping in her mother's arms. Loki looked outside. He hadn't realised what time it was. It had been a long day. Only a few hours ago he had been eating donuts at the boring Tourist office… And now…

Again a weird feeling struck the young king's mind. A sense of worry and even a little bit of panic. He didn't know why, but he really felt like something was terribly wrong on Asgard as if someone had told him, but Loki was sure no one could have told him that…

Loki walked over to the windows and looked down. Deep down in the dark street he could see the black SHIELD cars putting on their headlights. In the sky two helicopters were still flying around the tower. Loki sighed. He knew Thor was right… he was stuck…

The young king turned around and saw Jane getting on her feet, carrying a sleeping Frigga.

"I'm gonna put this one in bed…" Jane said when she noticed Loki looking at her. The young king nodded vaguely. He wasn't really paying attention. All he could think of were the horrifying nightmares Frigga would suffer from this night.

-xxx-

The cup went up in the air and fell back into Loki's hand. Up it went, and down again, every time reflecting the sunshine peeping through the clouds above New York and throwing dancing sparkles on the walls and furniture. Up and down… Up and down… Up and down… Up an…

"Loki!"

Loki sighed and caught the cup once more while letting his head rest on the back of the couch so he see who had disturbed his perfectly boring day.

"What?" he asked while watching Thor enter the living room.

It had been four days already. Four days locked up in Stark Tower. Four days of barely sleeping nor eating. Four days of boring misery… SHIELD had left on the morning of the second day, but Thor had been right that SHIELD wouldn't leave them alone, because Jarvis detected an undercover Agent or sniper every ten minutes.

Thor said down on the couch. Loki ignored him and started throwing the cup up and down again.

"Have you eaten already?" Thor asked after a short silence. He knew Loki tried to avoid the others as much as possible and that involved not appearing at breakfast or any meal for that matter. Loki never seemed to move from the couch. He just sat there when Thor woke up and he still hadn't moved when the night fell. Thor wondered if his brother was still not fully healed after the Tesseract.

Loki didn't answer the question, but just kept staring out of the window. Thor sighed.

"You should at least eat something, Loki…" he said silently. The cup fell to the ground.

"I'm not hungry…" Loki said without picking it up again. He still hadn't looked at his brother.

Loki knew Thor hadn't come because he was worried. There had to be something else. Normally Loki would have made some sarcastic remark about it, but now he wasn't really in the mood. He was way too tired… Frigga wasn't the only one suffering from horrible nightmares…

"I actually was hoping you could help me out with something…" Thor eventually said. He waited for Loki to respond, but his brother kept ignoring him.

"Jane and Frigga want to go home…"

Loki smirked and turned to his brother. "Oh really? Me too…"

Thor ignored Loki and kept on talking. "I want you to put an illusion on them so they can leave Stark Tower until they are home…"

"You want me to turn them invisible, you mean?" Loki asked. Thor nodded.

"Since when am I allowed to leave?" the young king asked.

Thor shook his head. "You're not! I know you can control illusions from a distance… you're staying here…"

Loki straightened his back. "What? You're asking me to let them leave! But I have to stay here, while I actually can leave!"

Thor groaned and rubbed his forehead. He'd been scared Loki would respond like this.

"Loki… Frigga has to go home. And in a couple of days she has to go to school again! We can't keep lying about her whereabouts…"

"What have you been telling them now?"

"That she's in the hospital because she was in shock…"

"Frigga is in shock!" Loki said between clenched teeth.

"Exactly! That's why she has to go home, so she can put her mind off things!"

"But why can't I go! Why would they be permitted to leave and I not!" Loki cried out. He knew he was acting like a child, but staying in this tower with that imbecil of a Stark, that Romanoff woman and that irritating piece of scientist that kept staring at him was driving him mad!

"Loki! SHIELD is everywhere! If they as much as see you, they shoot you and everyone around you…"

Loki wanted to shout that he would go alone in that case, but he knew that was an absolute no-go, so he kept his mouth shut.

Thor knew his brother was angry, but what else could he do? Honestly, he didn't really know what he was doing at all. Jane had needed a couple of hours to convince her husband that they had to leave too.

"They're leaving tonight..." Thor said after a couple of seconds. Again, he waited for Loki to confirm, but the young king was ignoring him again, so he sighed and got to his feet.

Loki waited until Thor had left the room before letting go of his breath. How he hated all this!

_It's better for Frigga…_he kept telling himself to keep any other thought from his head.

-xxx-

"_Aaaaah! What's happening!" Frigga called out when the ground started to shake. Loki grabbed her arm just in time. He looked around, just as an unbearably high peep filled the air. _

_In the distance, Frigga could see the scared face of Erik Selvig.  
"Everybody! Get on the ground!" the scientist shouted. Frigga looked up while the people around her screamed. She'd never seen Loki so scared. _

_Loki looked down. He knew what he would see: the scared eyes of his niece…_

_Except that he didn't! Not this time… _

_Frigga suddenly seemed angry, disappointed and betrayed. "You promised you would take care of me! That you would protect me!" she said in a harsh voice. Loki frowned._

"_But I am!" he said, but the little girl shook her head._

"_You're just a monster like everyone said! All you're good at is destroying cities and getting people killed!"_

_Loki wanted to answer when he suddenly heard the most irritating voice he'd ever heard. The young king turned around. The people behind the robe had disappeared and made place for… SpongeBob Squarepants who seemed to be chasing jellyfish while laughing his irritating laugh._

_What was that talking sponge doing here? Loki turned to Frigga to ask her, but Frigga was gone. Instead he saw two small boxes. One was bright blue, the other red… The Tesseract and the Aether. Loki looked up. His surroundings had changed. He was no longer on Earth… The grey hills of Svartalfheim made the two boxes look even brighter. A little bit further, to his right Loki saw someone he'd least expected in place like this. The Allfather… _

_Odin stared at his stepson, his armour and sceptre glowing in the little light._

"_Now you have all the power you desire, my son!" Odin said in a low voice._

"_I don't want …" Loki started, wondering how it was possible that Odin was here, but the Allfather just kept on talking._

"… _But all power comes with a price. I'm glad you understand that, Loki…"_

_The young king blinked confusedly. "What are you talking about? What price?" he heard himself say when he suddenly noticed someone was standing behind him. Loki turned around and saw Frigga with behind her Malekith who held up Loki's sceptre. Before Loki could do anything Malekith struck Frigga hard in the back. The young king watched the blade cutting through Frigga's small body. Her high pitched scream of agony drowned his own scream… _

Loki woke up and only just managed not to scream. He felt his heart beat out of his chest, his longs were doing overtime and he was completely covered in sweat. Another nightmare… And this time even that awful sponge had been there! Loki tried to get his breathing under control while he slowly sank back into the pillows of the couch.

Frigga and Jane had left the evening before. All Loki had to do was concentrate on the two until Jane would call to tell them they had arrived at home. Everything had gone swimmingly. SHIELD hadn't noticed anything or didn't care. The weird thing was that Thor had decided to join his wife and daughter at the last minute. Loki had been too tired and angry to ask why, but now he was wondering what Thor had been up to.  
Honestly, Loki had been glad when Jarvis had told him he could drop the illusion. The Tesseract Energy had clearly taken its toll.

Loki got up from the couch and walked over to the window while trying to calm down. Outside he could see the first sunrays peek over the horizon. Lost in thought, the young king stared to the dark blue sky, wondering about Asgard. Over the days he had grown more and more anxious, which didn't really help. If only he could remember why he was so concerned, but every time the young king tried to remember he found nothing but darkness and – for some unknown reason – a kind, friendly, great, warm feeling.

A sudden sound woke Loki from his thoughts.

"Good morning, sir…" Jarvis voice sounded. Loki looked around to make sure the computer was talking him and not Stark or anyone else.

Loki turned. He actually quite liked the computer, not that he would admit it of course. But Jarvis just turned out to be the only one who didn't seem to have any judgement about him.

"Thor has asked me to tell you that he wants to return to Stark Tower. Shall I inform him you are awake?"

Loki frowned. Thor wanted to return so quickly? Why?

"Did he mention what he was doing?" Loki asked.

"I'm afraid not, sir. My apologies…"

Loki thought about that for a moment. Maybe he was just imagining things. Maybe Thor just wanted to make sure his family was safe.

"I noticed a raise in your heartbeat and breathing, sir. I can only assume you suffered from a nightmare. If you let me, I could recommend some treatment against…" Jarvis voice continued , but Loki quickly cut the computer off.

"Shut up! Not necessary! Just call him, will you!"

Jarvis turned quiet for a second as if he was affected by Loki's interruption.

"Off course, sir…"

A second later Loki could hear the monotone tones of the phone. He waited patiently until someone would pick it up. Just when he thought no one would, Thor answered the phone.

"_What?_" a tired voice sounded from the other end.

"Had a good night sleep, brother?" Loki asked with a grin.

"_Loki? Have you any idea what time it is?_" Thor answered angrily.

"I thought you wanted Jarvis to tell me of your expected return the moment I woke up…" Loki said innocently.

A deep sigh sounded from the other side of the line. "_Why are you… Never mind… give me five minutes…_"

A loud click told Loki Thor had hung up. The young king couldn't keep smile of his face.

Ten minutes later Thor called back to tell Loki he was ready after ignoring his brother's remark about his timing. So Loki concentrated on Thor until his brother landed on the balcony two minutes later.

The God of Thunder walked in the living room and put down Mjölnir while trying to supress an enormous yawn. Loki was sitting in the couch as usual. Thor sighed.

"I haven't had breakfast yet…" he said, hoping Loki would understand the hint. Because his brother didn't react he walked over to the couch.

"The least you can do for calling me out of bed so early is having breakfast with me…"

Loki looked up. He wanted to ask Thor what he had been up to, so he decided that having breakfast wasn't that bad of an idea. After all, he hadn't really had a proper meal in days.

"All right…" the young king said. Thor nodded and disappeared to the kitchen. Loki got to his feet and followed his brother. Just before he left the room he turned around, before realising he didn't really knew where to look or speak.

"Eeeer… Jarvis?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes, sir?" the computer immediately answered from nowhere in particular.

"Eeer.. Don't you tell anyone anything about those nightmares!"

"Not a word, sir…"

"Especially not to Thor…"

"As you wish, sir…" the loyal computer answered.

Loki didn't really know what to say next, so he just nodded and left the room.

* * *

**So I hope you liked it! :)**

**Please review ;)**

**x**


	21. Chapter 20

**Hi! A fast update especially for you guys! ENJOY!**

**WARNING: there is some violence ahead...**

* * *

_**Chapter 20**_

"So are you gonna tell me why you left?" Loki asked while Thor was searching for milk in the enormous fridge. Tony seemed to have everything but milk in there…

"What do you mean?" the God of Thunder asked without looking up.

Loki, who was inspecting the overwhelming offer of fruit, turned around so he could face his brother.

"Call me paranoid, but your sudden departure and quick return haven't gone unnoticed…"

Thor sighed. "I was just making sure Jane and Frigga were fine…"

Loki turned silent. He wasn't quite sure Thor was lying or not, probably because he was telling the truth. But that still didn't mean he couldn't have done something else too…

Loki decided to leave it alone. He was a bit tired of worrying about his bother's boring life. Asgard was a lot more important right now.

The young king turned around after picking an apple and a pear from the bowl and walked over to the window. He didn't notice Thor's sudden change of expression.

The God of Thunder didn't really know what to do. He'd hoped Loki wouldn't ask any questions about his whereabouts, because he was right. He'd been doing something else!

In fact, Thor had left his home when Jane and Frigga had gone to bed, to drive out the city to a deserted field. Even though he knew it was a risk to go out with SHIELD crawling over the place, there was something he had to do. Thor had decided that Loki could go back to Asgard, but just to be sure, he wanted to talk to Heimdall, The Warriors Three and he also wanted to see Asgard. But when he had asked Heimdall to open the Bifröst, nothing had happened. Even after shouting skywards for ten minutes, the guardian still seemed to ignore Thor's command.

There were two options: or there were humans around and Heimdall didn't want to open the rainbow bridge in fear of unwanted intruders, or there was something wrong with the Bifröst or Heimdall himself.

During the drive home, Thor had been growing more and more worried that Loki's fears were coming true. But what could he do? If the Bifröst was closed, nor he or Loki would be able to return. Maybe Loki knew a secret passage? But Thor doubted that, since the young king could have used it already…

And now, he had to tell Loki… Thor swallowed. Honestly, he was a bit scared of Loki's reaction.

Two voices suddenly sounded from the other room.

"… No, I mean it, Pepper! There are too many people in this tower!"

"It's not like we don't have the space, Tony…"

"I didn't build a…."

"We…"

"_We_ didn't build a hotel, Pepper!"

"Jane, Thor and Frigga already left…"

"Yes and that leaves us with grumpy Natasha and mister Reindeer! I want that piece of alien shit out of my hou…"

Tony turned silent when he walked in the kitchen, followed by Pepper, and made eye contact with the two Gods.

Pepper bit her lip and smiled. "Oops…" she said silently, so only Tony could hear it. Thor pulled up his eyebrows and Loki looked at the two humans with a poker face and an apple hallway his mouth.

Pepper decided that she had to break the ice. So she stepped past Tony into the kitchen.

"Thor! You're back already!"

The God of Thunder smiled and looked over at Loki while trying to decipher the young king's silence. His brother was obviously touched by Tony's remark. Not because it actually hurt him, but because it was another one after the hundreds he'd endured over the last days. Without saying a word, Loki threw the core of the pear and half his apple into a bin and left through another door.

"Loki, you have to eat!" Thor said irritated. Loki smiled a sad smile.

"_Alien shit _is not hungry…" he said just before leaving the room. Thor and Pepper both threw Tony an accusing look.

"What?" the billionaire said innocently. "I'm not going to apologize!"

Thor sighed and decided it was best to ignore the scientist. He didn't even pay attention to Pepper's attempts to break the tension…

-xxx-

Loki stared out of the window. The hours past as if it were years. Even Jarvis' attempts to cheer him up didn't help. On the contrary…

Loki was sure he'd never been this bored in a thousand years! At least on Asgard some guard would come complaining about something, but here…

The young king sighed and closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't, because he was having trouble fighting of the sleep which tried to overpower his body. The last thing he wanted was Thor – or even worse – that Stark idiot to walk in while he was having a nightmare…

Around two in the afternoon, Thor decided he had to talk to Loki about the Bifröst. The God of Thunder cautiously walked in the living room, while trying to find the best way to tell the already pretty annoyed Loki.

Loki looked up when he heard his brother enter and sighed.

_Great… _he thought. _Don't make this even worse!_

"Loki, I…" Thor started when Jarvis suddenly interrupted him.

"Excuse me, sir! But I believe I have some urgent news…"

Thor sighed and looked at the ceiling even though there was nothing to speak to there.

"What?" he asked while he saw Tony and Bruce enter the room. Obviously they'd heard the message too.

"I just received a call from Jane Foster, sir. She and Frigga Foster are in Central Park and think they're being followed…"

"Followed?" Bruce asked before anyone else got the chance.

"Yes, Doctor Banner. I checked some camera images in the area. I believe they are being shadowed by SHIELD, sir." Jarvis voice sounded while some of the screens in the room came to life to show the images Jarvis was talking about. Just like he said, they could see a couple of black cars blocking the entrances of Central Park and numerous Agents in the park. Thor and Loki immediately spotted the frightened Jane, dragging Frigga along, trying to escape the Agents. Within a few minutes they would be surrounded…

A metal sound filled the air when Mjölnir soared over Loki's head into Thor's hand palm. The young king looked up. It had been a while he'd seen his brother this angry…

"What are you going to do?" Bruce asked.

Thor didn't answer. He just looked at the scientist after which he turned around to make his way to the balcony. Loki immediately sprang to his feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" Thor asked standing at the glass door.

"I'm coming with you…" Loki said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Thor clenched his teeth. He clearly had to do his best not to lose his temper.

"When are you going to listen! You stay here!"

Instead of shouting, like Thor had expected, Loki just laughed while making his way to the open door.

"Thor, brother…" he started while putting one hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's time you accept a simple truth…"

Loki past his brother and walked on the balcony. When he reached the edge and had looked down, he turned around again with a big smile playing on his lips.

"I'm the king of Asgard… You don't tell me what to do…"

Before Thor could stop him, Loki jumped over the balustrade.

"Loki!" Thor shouted furiously, while jumping after his brother. He caught the young king in mid-air and let Mjölnir drag them skywards again.

"You are such a…" Thor started angrily.

"Extremely handsome genius?" Loki finished with a grin while trying not to fall.

"Irritating, crazy, troublesome little brother!" Thor corrected.

"It's not like I'm enjoying this, Thor!" Loki said.

"Nobody asked you to jump from one of New York's highest buildings!"

"Exactly!" Loki shouted with a smile just before Thor hit the ground rather hard and the young king smacked on the stone street. He looked up at his brother and grinned.

"Déjà vu…" he said rather amused. Thor sighed and turned around while his brother crawled to his feet. It seemed Thor had landed in tiny street in between two buildings. At the end of the street they could see an entrance of Central park. Loki shivered when he recognized the spot from his ride with Stuart Jhonson. This time though, the entrance was blocked by three black cars. Only a little further they could see two scared people surrounded by a hundred Agents.

Loki and Thor walked until they got to the cars. There Thor stopped Loki.

"That's far enough! You're staying right here, while I fix this!"

Loki couldn't believe his ears. "Don't you speak to me like that! I can help! I can get them out ten times faster than you can!"

"No! You're going to get us in trouble! Stay! Here!"

"I am the King of Asgard!" Loki started, but Thor cut him off.

"Then start acting like one!" he shouted. "You know I'm right! You would tell me the same thing!"

Loki turned quiet. Thor was right indeed. The young king sighed.

"Make sure people don't see you!" Thor said before pushing one of the cars out of the way so he could enter the park. Loki rolled with his eyes and put an illusion around his body, turning himself invisible. Afterwards he followed Thor until he reached the first trees. Thor could say what he wanted. If he couldn't help, Loki wanted a good view.

-xxx-

Jane didn't know where to look or turn. There were Agents everywhere! Frigga was hiding behind her mother's back, peeping scared. This was just too much to bear!

Thor nonchalantly walked onto the scene, straight to his wife.

"Jane…" he said silently. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay inside…"

"Frigga needed to go outside! I asked Jarvis, he'd been scanning all morning. There were no Agents around the house!" the desperate mother said in a whisper.

Thor put a comforting hand on Jane's shoulder.

"It's all right.. it's not your fault. It wouldn't be the first time Jarvis' systems are overwritten by SHIELD…" he said darkly.

"Don't tell Tony I said that…" he added after a couple of seconds. Jane smiled softly. Thor put his hand on Frigga's head until his daughter cautiously smiled back. The God of Thunder didn't really know how to comfort her and the fact that Loki seemed to be rather good at it, made him feel even more embarrassed…

The God of Thunder turned around to face the Agents. He spotted the man he'd seen before the explosion. The man who opened fire on Loki… Thor's expression turned dark.

The SHIELD Agent obviously didn't want Thor to see how scared he was right now, so he decided to speak first.

"I suppose you know why we're here?" he asked, surprised about how steady his voice sounded.

"Enlighten me…" Thor asked without changing his expression.

"We don't want any trouble, Thor. Just deliver your brother to us and no harm will come to anyone."

"You're threatening my family! I suggest you and your men leave at once. Otherwise it will be me who starts hurting people!"

The Agent cleared his throat nervously. Normally Agent Hill was in charge of cases involving the Avengers, but since the incident near Broadway, SHIELD had decided she had grown too friendly with the Avengers.

"Thor, you know Loki belongs to us now. We formed an agreement after the Battle of New York. You would be allowed to take Loki to Asgard to face justice. But if he ever set foot on Earth again, he was our prisoner… Loki belongs to Earth, to SHIELD."

"That was in case Loki was still a prisoner!" Thor shouted. The Agent clearly didn't know what he had to say next. According to his sources, The God of Mischief had died. Now that turned out Loki wasn't dead, he assumed he was still a prisoner…

"Loki was and still is a danger to the people of this planet and any other world for that matter. It seems to me that your Asgardian sense of justice is rather… how would I put it… horrible! Have you forgotten what Loki has done? Or does the human race mean nothing to the Gods?"

Thor didn't want to get any more angry, but this man was not leaving him much choice.

"I will not allow any cruel words about Asgard!" he said while raising his hammer. About every Agent took a step back.

"How dare you scare my family! I give you one more chance to leave!" Thor roared furiously.

-xxx-

Meanwhile Loki watched the scene from his spot behind some trees, just outside the circle of Agents. Genuinely, he rather enjoyed it. These Agents were clearly shitting themselves!

Behind him, people started gathering behind the cars. Suddenly a young, nerdy looking student gasped in surprise and said: "Hey! Isn't that The Mighty Thor!"

Immediately the other people started pushing and pulling each other to get a better look.

Loki shook his head and smirked. "So much for trying to fit in, Thor…" he whispered to himself. Suddenly all the Agents took a step back and Loki only just managed to avoid an Agent who was taking a rather big step, obviously trying to hide between the trees. The young king stumbled backwards until his eye fell on young looking, extremely pale and nervous Agent, who was sneaking back to one of the cars. Instead of getting in, he opened the trunk and lifted a big black box out of it. While opening it by scanning his badge, he said something in his earpiece. A couple of Agents in the circle turned around. When they saw their colleague, they cautiously stepped aside to make place. The young Agent got back to his feet, holding an enormous gun in his arms. He slowly made his way back to the circle while clicking a button on the gun. The weapon zoomed to live.

Loki gasped. He recognized that weapon! This was the gun Agent Coulson had used to blast him through a wall! A weapon based on the Destroyer! And Coulson's gun had been a prototype! Who knew what this one was capable of!

The young king quickly made his way through the trees until he found a spot without any Agents. His eyes searched for the young Agent. Within a second he'd found him, still boggling with the weapon. Thor didn't notice it in the slightest!

Loki felt a wave of panic raging through his body. Who knew what that thing would do to people! Why didn't Thor see it!

The Agent had found the right way to hold the massive thing. He knelled on one knee and started aiming at Thor.

Loki didn't have any control of what he did next. He just did it!  
Before he could stop himself Loki started running towards Thor, Jane and Frigga. When he was halfway, the illusion keeping him invisible vanished, making place for one of an ordinary Agent of SHIELD. A couple of the other Agents gasped in surprise, but Loki didn't care.

"THOR!" he shouted in his own voice. The God of Thunder turned around in surprise just as the weapon went off.

Loki pushed Thor and his family aside and formed a shield. When the red Energy ball hit his shield and exploded due the impact, the young king was blasted backwards. He hit the ground painfully and rolled back.

_Enough! _he thought wrathfully.

During his last roll, Loki dropped the illusion of the Agent, now showing his own, armed appearance. The young king put his hands behind him to break his fall and immediately landed on his feet. With one swift move Loki threw a dagger towards the young Agent with the weapon, and hit him right in the throat. With a horrifying scream and a sickening noise, the young man sank to his knees.

"Loki! Don't!" Thor shouted, but his brother didn't listen anymore.

What happened next, happened so fast that no one had even the time to be surprised. Illusions appeared and disolved behind Agents, daggers hit throats and hearts, necks snapped with a sicking noise, people screamed, guns were shot, … Within seconds the ground was covered with at least twenty bodies of dead Agents.

"Thor! Do something!" Jane called out desperately, while trying to make sure Frigga didn't see or hear anything. The God of Thunder looked around. The scene was covered with Loki's. It was impossible to know which one was the real one.

"Enough!" he roared just before his hammer hit the ground and everyone, except Loki, who was used to earthquakes like this, dropped on the ground. The illusions disappeared and Loki appeared to be standing a few steps away from the family, holding a terrified female Agent in his arms, ready to snap her neck. Thor swallowed. The last time he'd seen Loki this angry and full of hate, was the time they'd fought on the Bifröst. Jane unknowingly took a step back. Loki's expression was freaking her out!

"Let her go, Loki!" Thor said, breathing heavily. Loki didn't react, but just tightened his grip on the woman. His clothes where covered in small specks of blood where the bullets had hit him, but he'd healed fast enough to avoid any damage. His face was covered in sweat and his eyes were filled with pure rage. The woman squeaked in agony.

"Let her go, Loki… You're better than this…" Thor tried again while the remaining Agents slowly organized again. They formed a circle around the four. Guns were loaded and more "Destroyer" – weapons appeared.

"Please, Loki…" Thor said silently, while tightening his grip on his hammer. Behind him he could hear the fast breathing of his wife and the silent cries and sobs of his daughter.

Slowly Loki loosed his grip and let the woman fall before his feet. The fury in his eyes faded slightly as if he awoke from a trance. The young king looked around him, rather surprised about his sudden outburst. He didn't even pay attention to the terrified Agent who tried to crawl towards the others.

Loki and Thor just stared at each other for a couple of seconds. The young kings glanced over at Jane and Frigga and immediately felt bad. Now he'd only added another nightmare to his nieces memory…

Everywhere around him Loki could hear the clicking of guns, ready to shoot. The young king didn't move. He knew he'd fucked up and he realised there was no way out, especially not for Frigga and Jane.

"P..p..Put… y… your hands.. o…on your head… and…d… stand down!" the terrified voice of the leader sounded, but Loki didn't pay attention. He slowly made his way towards his brother. When he was standing next to Thor, covering Jane and Frigga, he looked to the sky. Thor noticed and made eye contact with his brother.

"Loki, we can't…" he started, but Loki quickly interrupted. His voice sounded serious, without any trace of fear. It was the voice of a king.

"It's the only way!"

"Loki, I have to…"

"Shut up, Thor!"

"Step away from … Loki…" the leader shouted again.

"Just listen! I have to tell…"

"W…We will open f.. fire!"

"Just shut it, Thor! There's no other way!"

"But…"

"You have five seconds to step away! We will open fire!"

Loki turned his head to face Jane and Frigga.  
"Frigga!" he shouted. The little girl didn't react and Jane pulled her daughter a little further away from Loki.

"FIVE!"

"Jane, there's no time!" the young kings said.

"You don't touch her!" Jane answered, sounding a lot stronger than she felt.

"FOUR!"

"Just trust me on this one, will ye! Grab Thor!"

Jane frowned.

"THREE!"

"Just do it!" Loki hissed. The look in his eyes made Jane shut up. She took hold of her husband's back

"Frigga!" Loki continued a bit more earnest now. Frigga cautiously looked up over her mother's shoulder. Her eyes were filled with tears and she was shaking all over her body.

"You trust me?" Loki whispered. Frigga nodded almost invisible.  
"Then take my hand and don't let go of your mother!"

"Loki, I have to tell you something…"

"Thor, I said: SHUT! UP!"

"TWO!"

Loki skywards. "Heimdall… open the Bifröst he said in whisper.

Nothing happened.

"Heimdall!" he said a bit louder.

"One last chance!" the Agent called out.

"Heimdall!" Loki shouted. "Open the Bifröst!"

Thor looked at his brother.

"Heimdall…" Loki repeated, the panic in his voice noticeable.

"ONE!"

"Heimdall! Open the Bifröst!" Loki and Thor shouted at the same time, just as all the guns fired and muted Frigga's terrified scream.

* * *

**So... Let me know what you think ;)**

**And a big thanks to all of you for still not hating me ;)**

**Please review :)**

**x**


	22. Chapter 21

**Hey everyone! Been a while again... But stil: ENOY! ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 21**_

A blinding light forced Loki to close his eyes. For a second he was sure he had died, but then he recognized the strong, pulling force of the Bifröst. They were traveling to Asgard! Before they realised it, all four of them were standing in the Bifröst.

Jane cautiously opened her eyes. She had squeezed them shut, afraid of what would come, but she immediately recognised the golden interior of the Bifröst. She was speechless… they'd actually made it!

Thor walked over to his wife and put one hand on her shoulder.  
"Are you all right, Jane?"

Jane slowly nodded her head. She was alive! In her arms, she was still holding her frightened little daughter, who was clanging onto her mother with all her might.

"Frigga…" Jane whispered kindly. "It's all right, sweetie, we're safe. Look around…"

Cautiously, the little girl lifted her head. Even though she was still shaking and crying, her bright blue eyes grew big when she saw the golden circles on the ceiling and the rainbow bridge outside.

Loki on the other hand only had eye for Heimdall who had sunk on one knee the moment his king had appeared. The God of Mischief slowly made his way towards the guardian, his face covered with anger.

"You…" he started in a furious, creepy whisper which drew everyone's attention straight to him. "You selfless, tiny, foolish, arrogant…"

"Loki!" Thor interrupted, but the young king wasn't going to let anyone stop him.

"Shut your mouth, Thor! I am talking!" he shouted after which he focused his attention back on Heimdall.

"You are pathetic! How dare you disobey your king! You ignored every order! You almost let me die! And you brought every realm, starting with Midgard and Asgard in danger! I should behead you right now! Execute you four your treason! You don't deserve the title of guardi…"

"Loki, I…"

"SHUT UP, THOR!"

"JUST LOOK AROUND YOU!" Thor shouted in return. If possible, Loki got even more angry. His golden sceptre appeared in his hand when he walked over to his brother.

"When I am talking, you shu…" he started furiously until it struck him. Thor was right. Awe struck, the young king scanned the rest of the room.

Normally, the Bifröst was, next to the palace, one of the most beautiful, shining buildings on Asgard. But now… the whole room was covered in a thin layer of dust, as if it hadn't been used for some time. The panels on the ceiling didn't move as easy as they were supposed to as if the whole machine had woken up after a long sleep and still needed to warm up. Outside he saw two guards standing next to a flying boat. And Heimdall…

The young king inspected the guardian in front of him. Heimdall wasn't wearing his full armour, and also seemed a bit dusty. And he looked very tired.

Cautiously, the guardian looked up. Now that Loki could see his face, he noticed Heimdall was breathing heavily, as if he'd just run a marathon, and his face was covered in sweat. His eyes showed fear, but also pain, despair and sorrow.

"Explain yourself!" Loki ordered him.

"Please, except my apolog…" Heimdall started, sounding out of breath. But Loki immediately interrupted.

"Skip the flattering!"

Heimdall swallowed and took a deep breath. He really seemed exhausted!

"It is the Captain, my King… He has taken control over Asgard, but the power drove him mad! He imprisoned me a few days after your departure…"

Loki frowned.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, Loki!" Thor said behind him. "I tried to open the Bifröst myself, yesterday. Heimdall didn't answer…"

Loki almost couldn't' believe what he was hearing.

"You mean to say…" the young king started. "That during my absence, there was no one to guard the Bifröst!"

Heimdall shook his head.

"No, my King… The Captain ordered the immediate closing of the Bifröst. He meant to avoid your return. No one was permitted to leave. And I was forced to leave my position. I was not capable of defending Asgard nor the other realms. I neglected my duties, for which I am ashamed of myself…"

Loki opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He'd never felt so many emotions at the same time. For starters, he was really angry with Heimdall for betraying him, but the fact that the Captain had taken control just drove him mad! Asgard had been in danger the whole time! And he, the King of Asgard, had allowed a mad man to take the throne!

Loki swallowed and licked his lips while he tried to keep his temper under control. After what had happened on Midgard, he knew he had to be careful…

"My King…" Heimdall suddenly started cautiously. "There is something you must know… I only managed to escape because of the Captain's daughter. She managed to convince him that Asgard needed a guardian. She swore on her life that I would only stand guard, nothing more… Now that I opened the Bifröst, and I am certain the Captain noticed, he will be forced to execute his own daughter because she broke her promise…"

"But she's his daughter!" Jane called out before she could stop herself. Heimdall looked up at the Midgardian woman.

"As I said… The Captain has lost his mind."

The guardian turned back to Loki. "She is in grave danger my King…"

Loki bit his lip. Inside he was screaming in agony. The Captain would be lucky if he didn't kill him… The young king took deep breath.

"We are not finished yet!" he said before turning his back on the guardian. He walked over to the guards outside the Bifröst, who immediately sank on their knees. Loki sighed. All this bowing… he had to get used to it again.

"You will escort Jane and Frigga to the palace!"

One of the guards looked up. "What of you, Sire?" he asked, clearly relieved his king was back.

"The ship is not fast enough…" the young king answered.

Loki turned around to face Thor.

"Thor… I never thought I would ask this, but I need a lift…" he said with a scowl. Thor grinned, but after another angry scowl of his brother he tried to stop laughing.

The God of Thunder kissed Jane softly on the cheek before walking towards Loki.

"Hold on tight, _Your Highness…_" Thor said before taking hold of Loki's clothes. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Since when are you the sarcastic one…"

Thor laughed before lifting Mjölnir to the sky and they took off.

Frigga watched with her mouth hanging open.

"Mummy! Mummy! Can I do that too! With Daddy!" she cried out in excitement, forgetting the fears from before.

Jane didn't answer. She just followed her husband until he was nothing more than a dark spot in the distance. She sighed. Everything she had tried to avoid had come true… she was back on Asgard…

Heimdall got to his feet again. "I am terribly sorry, Jane Foster", he said. "I can send you and your daughter back if you like… Somewhere outside the city…"

Jane shook her head vaguely. "No…" she said silently. Even though she wanted to go back, she knew Asgard was a safer place now. She turned to Heimdall.

"So… Loki… he really is the King of Asgard…" she said, trying to think of something else.

Heimdall nodded, while he fetched his sword from the middle of the room.

"Yes, for almost six years now… And a quite good king too…"

"Why did you send him away, if he was a good king?" Jane asked.

"Loki did not realise he could not rule while carrying lies… And he still has not told you everything…"

Jane frowned. "What do you mean?"

Heimdall smiled. "It is not my duty to tell you this… When the time is there, Loki will tell you…"

Jane sighed. _Great…_ she thought.

Heimdall gestured to the boat. "I think you better leave now. Little Frigga might be a little tired of today's events."

Frigga wanted to say she wasn't tired at all, but she couldn't suppress a huge yawn. Jane laughed softly while walking over to the guards.

Heimdall took his place in front of the Bifröst and focused on the universe again. He smiled…

-xxx-

Thor landed, a lot gentler this time, on a balcony next to the throne room. Loki stumbled backwards, but managed to stay on his feet. He changed his appearance again. Now he was wearing his royal outfit, carrying his golden sceptre in right hand.

"Try not to kill him…" Thor said after a quick look on Loki's angry face. Loki scowled and turned around to enter the throne room.

-xxx-

"My King, I beg you… Asgard needs to have a proper guardian. The Bifröst has to be functional at all times…"

"Silence! You gave me your word and broke it. Now you have to suffer the consequences! Heimdall will do the same after I am done with you!"

"But Father…"

"You address me as 'My King' or 'Sire'!"

"M..M…My King… I…"

"My King, if I may…"

"No, you may not! No one will question my judgement! The Allfather would not have acted any differently! When you make a mistake, you have to be told a lesson!"

"The Allfather only banished and imprisoned his sons and only when they brought Asgard or any other realm in danger!"

"How dare you speak in my presence! You are only a simple guard! One more word and I will execute you for your inappropriateness!"

"No… You will not…"

The throne room turned silent. Everyone looked at the guard who had spoken out of turn. The one who dared to question the new king. The man who stood up for the king's daughter. The one guard no one seemed to recognize…

The new king turned red and watched the strange guard walk over to the middle of the room until he stood in between the throne and the sobbing, scared woman on the ground.

"Guards! Take that man into custody!"

The guards around the room hesitated. Who was this stranger? And to be honest, no one actually agreed with the king's 'judgement'.

When no one reacted the king decided to do it himself.

"Who do you think you are!" he said while descending the stairs leading towards his daughter and the guard. In his hand he held a brand new golden sceptre, with at the end a shining, sharp blade.

"You think it wise to question me?" he continued.

"You better don't question me…" the guard said darkly.

The king almost turned purple. He raised his sceptre.

"Father, please!"

The girl had sprung to her feet. She appreciated this stranger's help, but she didn't want any more blood on her hands. Soon, she knew, King Loki would be here. Maybe not in time to save her, but at least he would stop her father.

The king focused his attention on his daughter again.

"I told you to address me with 'My King' or 'Sire'!" he repeated furiously before raising his sceptre towards his daughter. The woman closed her eyes in panic, holding her hands protectively in front her.

But the blade never came. Instead she heard the hard, metal sound of a weapon hitting a another one. She opened her eyes.

The King couldn't believe his eyes. His sceptre was blocked by another golden staff that had appeared out of thin air. A green glance covered the guards body and slowly made its way up, showing a new armour. Even before it reached the guard's head, the king knew who he was dealing with.

The whole room turned silent when their real king's furious face appeared. The Captain seemed scared for a moment but immediately recovered and smiled.

"Loki… I have been expecting you…" he said while taking a step back.

From one moment to the next, Loki's angry scowl made place for a rather friendly face, but with obvious hatred underneath.

"Well then.. as a guest I at least expect a banquet in my honour…" he answered while relaxing a bit.

The Captain laughed and made his way back up the stairs towards his throne.

"I do not have feasts in the name of a prisoner…"

Loki smiled. "You'll have to imprison me first then…"

With one hand resting on the side of the golden throne, the Captain looked down on the room.

"That will not be a problem…"

Loki laughed once more. "Do you really think that you can arrest me? That anyone in this room would take your command over mine?"

"I am certain they will after I told them the truth…"

Loki turned silent. He knew he had to be careful now.  
"The truth about what?"

The Captain smirked, until his expression suddenly changed into one of pure hatred and madness.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Loki Odinson! All these years I spend my impressive intellect to do whatever you wished of me. We all had to endure your completely wrongful reign! But I will not tolerate any traitor on the throne of Asgard! I will not be fooled! So I kept my eyes and ears open… If you dig deep enough and look around, you will find out the truth… The people of Asgard deserve a good and honest king! Not a traitor, a liar and a murderer!"

The Captain had turned bright red again and clasped his fingers tightly around the armrests of the throne. Bits of saliva were dangling underneath his chin while his breathing increased. Honestly, he made Loki think of a bull…

The young king waited until the Captain's words had faded throughout the room before answering more calmly than he'd ever done.

"Since I happened to be in a generous mood, I give you one chance to get of my throne and beat yourself up… even though I would like to do that last thing myself…"

The Captain laughed, but it sounded more like the bark of a mad dog. He got to his feet and pointed at Loki while taking a deep breath.

"This man, you once called 'king', has deceived you all!" he shouted though the room. He paused for a moment to make sure his words had effect.

"I have discovered the truth, as your righteous king! This man was not only crowned by a crime, he also has banned his own brother, prince Thor, to Midgard to insure he could not return to safe us all!"

Loki pretended to think the Captain's words over. He slowly nodded. "Sounds good, but what 'crime' are you referring to, if I might ask?"

The Captain laughed and sniffed. "What a son you are, killing your own father!"

The room turned even more silent. The only sound was the deep breathing of the Captain.

"You killed the Allfather! Cold blooded murder! He is not on any other world! He is not travelling! He is dead!"

The whole room stared at Loki. What was he going to do now?

The young king clicked his tongue and smiled. "I have to admit: it surely sounds nice and would have congratulated you with your brilliant plan if it wouldn't have been such gibberish!"

The Captain frowned slightly. He had expected Loki to admit his crime, since he couldn't run from the evidence.

"I will bring back prince Thor! He doesn't even know you are king!"

"That is extremely thoughtful and nice of you, but… you see… I already did that for you…"

The Captain wanted to answer, but nothing came over his lips.

Loki turned to the door. "Thor… Don't be shy…"

The Captain's eyes almost rolled out of his head when he saw his prince enter the throne room.

"Nice to see you Captain…." The God of Thunder said with a smile.

"Thor," Loki started while turning back to the throne, "are you surprised I am king?"

Thor pulled up his eyebrows. "Not really, no… I've always known Loki would be a good king…"

Loki smiled innocently. The Captain looked between the two brothers, not really knowing what to say.

"But… he banished you…" he said nodding, suddenly a bit more confident. "Look at your clothes, my prince! Midgardian clothes!"

Loki sighed dramatically and rolled with his eyes. "I can't help it if Thor falls in love with a Midgardian…"

The Captain looked at Thor, who pulled up his shoulders.

"You… You… That is a lie! You are a liar!" The Captain shouted desperately. Loki and Thor shared a look.

The young king shook his head. "Oh my… Nobody insults Jane Foster….", he said theatrically.

Thor's expression turned dark. "Exactly…" he conformed.

"I can speak for myself, thank you very much!" a voice suddenly sounded. Jane came marching in, with Frigga right behind her. The little girl's eyes were sparkling with excitement. She didn't know where to look first.

Loki whistled softly, which made the Captain even more anxious. He tried to say something, but nothing seemed right anymore. He was defeated.

"Now then…" Loki abruptly said, making everyone jump a foot in the air. "That was awkward…"

The young king slowly made his way towards the throne, his expression getting darker with every step.

"I'm going to say this only once: Get out of my throne!"

The Captain looked up at Loki who was towering above him, looking more furious than he'd ever seen him. Slowly he got to his feet and walked past Loki, down the stairs where two guard immediately grabbed him by his shoulders.

"You have betrayed your king and Asgard. For your crimes I should execute you this instant, but since your daughter is present and because I just want you to suffer into eternity, I sentence you to eternity of imprisonment!"

Loki waited before continuing. His wanted everyone to remember who was in charge.

"Now get that piece of traitor out of my sight!"

Everyone waited until the two guards and the Captain had left the throne room before breathing out. They all turned their attention on Loki again. As if someone had order them to do so, everyone kneeled down on one knee.. Only Jane, Thor and Frigga, who had to admit Loki could be rather creepy, were still standing. The three of them looked around in surprise. Even Loki had to admit he hadn't seen that coming.

The young king sat down on his throne.

"Yes.. Yes… Get on your feet everyone, we've got more urgent matters…"

As one, everyone got up again.

"Now… Everyone who has nothing to report… Leave us…"

About every guard, bowed his head and left. Only a couple of the guards standing closest to the throne and the Captain's daughter remained. Thor also wanted to leave, but Loki stopped him.

"No, Thor, you'll stay…"

The God of Thunder frowned, but didn't ask any questions. Jane and Frigga decided to stay too.

When the room turned silent again, Loki got up from his throne.

"It seems I'm one Captain short… Who was in charge of his duties during my absence?"

Slowly the Captain's daughter raised her hand. She had tears in her eyes, even though she was trying to hide them.

Loki looked at her.

"What is your name?" he asked, making sure he didn't sound to creepy.

"Arya, Sire…" she said in a broken voice.

Loki nodded while descending the stairs until he was just above eye level with the girl. She seemed younger than he was. She had bright green eyes, and raven black, long hair. Loki couldn't keep himself from comparing her to Harry Potter, even though she was a girl.

"Arya… I understood you are the former Captain's daughter?"

Arya nodded. "Yes, my king…"

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, my king… I don't see him as my father any longer…"

Loki nodded. "In that case I appoint you as the new Captain of The Guard…" he said before turning around again to get to his throne.

"I beg your apology, my King, but I do not believe I am the best person for the job…"

Loki turned again. "Why not?"

"I cannot bare the responsibilities, my King. My father only appointed me Captain, because I was his daughter. I have so much to learn, Sire…"

Loki thought about that for a moment. He turned to Thor.

"Very well… Thor…"

The God of Thunder looked up.

"Then I name you as Captain of the Guard…"

Thor's eyes opened in surprise.

"Excuse me!" he shouted.

Loki pulled up his eyebrows. "Why not? Not up for it?"

Loki smiled. This was a lot of fun!

Thor didn't know what to say. "What makes you think I will stay?"

Loki grinned. "Well… you're not going back down there, are you?"

Thor bit his lip. Of course Loki was right…

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because…" Loki started. " You, even though I don't want to admit it, have let us into battle more than once…"

Thor grinned back. "Is that a complement?" he asked.

"Of course without my intellect, you would have been killed more than once too…" Loki finished with a smirk.

Thor laughed.

"I only want you to teach her how to be a good leader, so she can be the Captain when you leave…" Loki said while pointing at Arya.

Arya almost choked.  
"My King!" she tried, but Loki cut her off.

"That was an order…"

Arya turned silent. She always dreamed of becoming the next Captain and when her father had still been her father, he'd always made jokes about it. And now she wasn't only a Captain in the making, she was actually going to be taught by the prince of Asgard!

She bowed her head.

"Arya, you're dismissed. I trust it you won't try to find any contact with your father anymore..." he said.

Arya bowed once more. "Of course, my king," she said before leaving the room.

Loki turned to the other four men who hadn't left the room. They were known as the royal advisors and were next to the king and the Captain the only people with power over Asgard. They all bowed their heads when their king looked down on them. Loki said down on his throne.

"Now then… Tell me how hard that idiot messed up…"

* * *

**What did you think? Let me know :)**

**Please review**

**Rumple x**


	23. Chapter 22

**Hi! Here's the next chapie! It's a short one, but I hope you'll still like it!**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 22**_

With a smile, Thor strolled through the golden halls of the palace. At long last he was home! And now he came to think of it… he'd never really noticed how much he craved to be back. Yesterday, Loki had tried to survey the damage the Captain had done, but everyone had been so tired that they'd decided to continue in the morning. Right now it was about ten o'clock in the morning and Thor had just had the best night sleep he'd had in years. And even better! Finally he was able to put on his own clothes and armour again!

Hurried footsteps suddenly broke the silence in the hall. Thor turned around and saw Jane running towards him. She was wearing a beautiful, blue Asgardian dress and she seemed slightly worried…

"Jane? Is something wrong?" he asked when his wife finally reached him. Jane looked up while trying to catch her breath.

"No, no… not at all… Well…"

Thor frowned. He knew Jane wasn't very happy to be on Asgard.

"I was just wondering if I could go back to… eeer… Earth, you know…"

Thor pulled up his eyebrows, but Jane quickly continued. "Not to stay, of course, but since we're planning on moving here for a while, I need to fetch some stuff… Frigga's teddy bear for example… She didn't want to sleep without one last night…"

Thor smiled.  
"I see…" he said, but his expression changed immediately.

"I'm sorry, Jane, but Loki ordered the Bifröst to remain closed. No one can leave without his permission."

Jane frowned. "But that's exactly what The Captain did…"

"Yes, I know, but you see, Jane, Asgard in pretty weak at the moment. We can't afford any danger coming in, or any warrior going out… It's only temporary…"

Jane nodded. She thought about that for a moment. "If I ask Loki's permission… There is a change I get to go back?"

Thor pulled up his shoulders. "I suppose… but I wouldn't count on it… _His Highness_ is in a pretty bad mood…" he said with a smile. Jane smiled back.

Suddenly, two guards appeared at the end of the hall and rushed towards Thor and Jane.

"My prince, the King has asked your immediate presence in the throne room", one of them said while bowing his head. Thor frowned. He turned to Jane and softly kissed her on the mouth.

Jane blinked in surprise. "What was that for?" she asked while a slight blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Just to show you how much I love you…" Thor answered with a grin. "I'll see you tonight…"

Jane smiled and turned around. Thor followed the guards.

-xxx-

"Thor, finally!" Loki shouted when he saw his brother enter the room.

"I thought we'd planned the meeting for eleven o'clock…" Thor said while walking over to his brother who was standing around a table, together with the four royal advisors.

"Turns out our problems are far greater than we initially thought… " Loki said with a scowl. Thor pulled up his eyebrows and joined at the table.

"Good morning Lord Steldor, Lord Atlas, Lord Gunnar, Lord Argus…" he said while nodding at the four old men. They bowed their head. As long as Thor could remember, the four men had been the royal advisors. He knew that Argus and Atlas were brothers. Argus was the oldest and also the oldest of the four men. Atlas was the youngest. Gunnar had been a far cousin of his mother and Steldor was an old friend of Odin. He had fought in many battles and had lost his right hand. Now he had a new, completely functional golden hand instead. When Thor and Loki had been younger he used to tell them about his victories. They'd heard a hundred different stories about the loss of his hand. Thor had always liked Steldor most.

"So, what is the problem?" Thor asked while looking down on the map on the table which showed Asgard on top and the nine realms around it.

"Food, my Prince…" Argus said in a low voice. Thor looked up, not fully understanding what the old man meant.

"Food supply, to be particular…" Loki explained. "From Vanaheim…"

"What in the world could the Captain have done to get us in trouble there?" Thor asked with a deep sigh.

Steldor looked up. "Since King Loki left, there have been some attacks from rascal packs in and around the borders of Vanaheim. As a result, many of their crops were destroyed. Asgard send in food, but as you know, most of our food comes from Vanaheim. In other words, we were distributing food without getting any in return…"

"But we have a stock, don't we?" Thor asked.

Steldor nodded.  
"Yes, but we have to many mouths to feed, we just cannot afford to hand out any more food, my Prince."

"But we also can't let them starve to death!" Loki interrupted. "And the pillaging continues!"

"The Captain realised that too, my King…" Atlas joined in. "With every delivery, he send troops along, but never enough. Our men were gravely outnumbered, because none has returned yet…"

Loki turned silent for a couple of seconds. "How many did he send in?"

"That's the problem, Sire…" Atlas continued. "The Captain kept sending warriors. He started with the new recruits, but when none survived or returned, he send the masters too."

"And none has returned?" Thor asked. Atlas shook his head.

"How many were in each troop?" Loki asked.

"The last one counted fifty new recruits and three masters, my King…" Atlas said.

Loki and Thor looked at each other in surprise.

"Fifty!" Loki repeated in disbelief.

"These robbers robbers must be greater than we think…" Thor said more to himself than to anyone in particular.

"How many men do we have left?" Loki asked.

The four advisors shared a look. No one wanted to answer the question. Loki noticed.

"How many!" he repeated angrily.

Gunnar, who had been rather silent, decided he had to say something too. "We only have the barely trained recruits left, Sire…"

Loki's eyes grew big… "And what about the masters?"

"None, Sire…" Atlas said silently. "None has returned…"

Loki groaned and dropped his head in his hands. Thor noticed his brother was getting mad.

"You mean to say that Asgard and Vanaheim are facing famine and we are as good as defenceless…" Loki said in a creepy voice.

"Yes, my King…" Gunnar answered, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.

Loki rubbed his eyes while trying to control the rage raging through his body. Of all people, the Captain should have been able to understand that sending in the masters was a stupid move! The young king clenched his fists. The map and cups on the table trembled. All four advisors instinctively took a step back. Thor tried to think of something that would calm Loki down, but since Frigga was still sleeping, he couldn't come up with anything. Just at that moment the doors opened and Arya walked in, flanked by two guards. Loki immediately forced himself to calm down. The furniture stopped trembling.

"You asked to see me, my King?" Arya said while bowing her head, pretending she hadn't seen anything. Loki took a deep breath and turned at the door.

"Yes, Yes… come in… We might need your help…"

Arya looked up in surprise, but walked over to the others

"My Prince, Lord Argus, Lord Atlas, Lord Gunnar, Lord Steldor…" she greeted before joining at the table.

"Arya…" Loki suddenly started. "What would you do if you knew that Asgardian knights, new recruits and masters, were killed or kidnapped across our borders?"

The young girl looked up, surprised that the King was talking directly to her. All the men at the table looked at her.

"Eeer… That depends on where they are, Sire.." she answered nervously.

Loki nodded. "Can you give an example?"

Arya raised her eyebrows. She had the feeling she was in class…. In fact, she was quite sure Loki was testing her…

"Eeer… Well… If they were on Jotunheim, I should send in a small group of highly trained guards, but only to negotiate and defend themselves if necessary. If they were on a world with which we have an friendly alliance, it depends on who is holding them captive. If it is the ruler of the realm, I would recommend a smaller group again, but If it is a bigger threat, I recommend bigger troops with mediocre guards and knights and one or two highly trained masters to lead them. That way we can always send in more when needed…"

Thor pulled up his eyebrows and shared a look with Loki. The young king had to admit that he was impressed too.

"Interesting…" he said. Arya couldn't help to smile. She had been really scared to disappoint her king.

The room turned silent. Everyone was looking at Loki, waiting for him to say something.

"That would have been a good strategy, if not for the fact that we don't have the power, nor the men to defend ourselves, let alone to save our own."

Arya's smile disappeared. She'd done it… She had disappointed her king…

"Nevertheless…" Loki suddenly continued. "That is not your fault…"

Arya couldn't follow anymore. Had she done a good or a bad job now…

Loki looked around the table. "Our biggest problem is food… without it we won't last until the next problem… How long do we have before we get trouble, Lord Gunnar?"

"Two weeks, maybe less, my King…"

Loki nodded. "And Vanaheim?"

"They're in trouble right now, Sire…"

Loki nodded again. "I think it is obvious then that we have to get rid of the pillaging first…"

Everyone around the table nodded in agreement.

"To do that, we need a proper army…"

"But we don't have any masters, Loki…" Thor reminded his brother. "Nobody to teach the new recruits…"

"Exactly… so that brings us to the first problem…"

Loki turned silent and seemed to think over the possibilities. There was one obvious solution, but Loki tried not to think of that.

"Arya…" he suddenly started again. "How good are your fighting skills?"

Arya frowned. "My king… I am only a woman…"

Loki and Thor sighed at the same time, both thinking of Lady Sif.

"That is absolutely out of the question!" the young king said slightly annoyed.

"Now seriously…" Thor continued. "There must be something you can do in a battle…"

Arya seemed to hesitate. Being a girl often meant that you weren't allowed to fight or become a warrior of sorts. But since she always dreamed of becoming the Captain of the Guard, she had taught herself a thing or two. Until now, no one knew about it…

"I am pretty good with a bow…" she admitted after a couple of seconds.

"A bow?" Loki asked in surprise. He knew it was difficult for a girl to get her hands on weapons, let alone lessons. The only reason why Sif had been able to practise was because of her friendship with the two princes. Queen Frigga had taken care of her lessons in the beginning, later she joint the warriors and became the best one Asgard ever had.

"Where in the world did you get your hands on a bow?" the young king asked. Arya turned red. How stupid could she be! Telling the King of Asgard she owned weapon, without permission!

"I eeer… I…." she stuttered. All eyes fixed on her.

_I'm doomed… _she thought just before opening her mouth to tell the truth. "As a child, I broke into the armoury. I wanted to prove to my… my father that I could defend myself."

"What!" Lord Atlas shouted. Arya bit her lip… In her head she was already saying goodbye to a career as Captain.

"Cool… I like that…." Loki said. Arya couldn't believe what she was hearing and she wasn't the only one. The four royal advisors were as surprised as she was.

"You broke in the weapon arsenal and you stole a bow?" Thor asked with a smile. "You could have stolen anything and you stole a bow?"

Arya looked up at the prince of Asgard. Was he actually thinking this funny?

"There's nothing wrong with a bow!" Loki interrupted throwing an angry glare at his brother.

"I'm not saying that…" Thor answered. Loki pulled up his eyebrows.

"I'm just saying that she could have chosen a sword or a spear… We barely use bows in a battle…"

"We don't?" Loki asked in surprise. He looked at Arya.

The girl slowly shook her head. "Bows are mostly used for ceremonies…"

Thor's smile disappeared when he had to think of his mother's funeral. There had been a lot of archers there…

"That's a shame…" Loki said, mostly to himself. He shook his head and focused back on the situation at hand.

"Anyway… Our warriors need to be able to do a bit more than that…"

Arya bowed her head. She couldn't believe she got away with this! But for some reason she still felt as if she had failed her king and prince…

"Thor…" Loki continued. "You think you can teach them?"

Thor looked up in astonishment.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the last time I fought with a sword is ages ago. I fight with Mjölnir… There must be someone else more fit for the job…"

Loki sighed. He looked up at his advisors.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

"What about you?" Thor suddenly said. Loki looked at his brother, his eyebrows halfway his forehead.

"You're a pretty good fighter, you can handle a sword and daggers…" The God of Thunder continued.

It stayed silent for a couple of seconds. Somewhere in his head, Loki couldn't believe that Thor was actually praising his fighting skills. It was almost as if he admitted that Loki was a better fighter!

"You really think I got time for that?" Loki asked a bit more unkindly than he meant. He just didn't really know how to react on a compliment...

"Just a suggestion…" Thor muttered in response.

"What about you, Lord Atlas?" Loki asked, ignoring Thor. The old man didn't know what he was hearing.

"It is not because I am the youngest of the four of us, that I am capable of teaching that young lot how to fight in battle…"

Loki nodded. "I understand, but can't you teach them some basics, some theory?"

Lord Atlas turned silent, not wanting to admit he'd never thought theory important...

"Maybe I can be of more help, my King…" Steldor suddenly said. Loki looked at the old man. He couldn't keep the thought of him fighting alongside Odin, out of his mind. But at the moment he needed to think of Asgard.

"All right, Lord Steldor… You'll start tomorrow morning."

Lord Steldor bowed his head.

"And Arya, I would like you to teach them how to shoot properly too."

Arya opened her mouth to argue, but Loki was quick to interrupt. He was getting enough of this boring subject. And the biggest problem was that the real solution was a lot easier, except for him…

"That was an order! You'll start tomorrow, together with Lord Steldor!"

Arya closed her mouth. She was really nervous and scared, but she bowed her head.

"Furthermore, I won't allow any banquet or feast until we have found a way to solve our food problem."

"What about Vanaheim, sire?" Gunnar asked cautiously.

"We cannot solve their problem yet. We first need the means to solve ours…"

"But, sire…"

"That's final!" Loki shouted. Everyone turned silent.

The young looked around the room. "You're all dismissed for today…"

The four advisors and Arya bowed and left the room. Thor remained.

"Loki…" The God of Thunder started with a serious voice. "Where are the Warri…"

"I said you're dismissed, Thor! Now leave!"

Thor frowned, but decided to leave too. When the heavy door had slammed shut, Loki let go of his breath. Rubbing his eyes, he walked up the stairs. With a deep groan he fell down in his golden throne.

It was driving him mad! He knew what he had to do! And he knew it was best for Asgard and Vanaheim, probably even for the other realms, but not for him…  
Everything could be over for him if he gave in, but what else could he do?

* * *

**I hope it wasn't too boring with all the serious stuff...**

**Anyway... Please Review!**

**Rumple x**


	24. Chapter 23

**Here I am again! It's a short one... again (sorry...) but still**

**ENJOY! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 23**_

Days past, they turned into weeks. Each one more boring that the last...  
Every day Loki looked down on the practising warriors, each time wishing he shouldn't have to lie to himself, but there was just no denying it: the new recruits sucked!

It wasn't all their fault, though… Lord Steldor was old and couldn't demonstrate any of the moves he taught his pupils. And besides that, his tactics were ancient and outdated.

Arya was doing her very best, but the young men were too proud to take orders from a girl. No matter how hard she tried, Arya always ended up completely ignored.

Loki sighed. He was hungry… They were running out of food. These last days, he had done nothing more than trying to calm down the other royal advisors and representatives of the other realms. Thor also got more and more suspicious and he hadn't seen Frigga once!

On the third day after his return, Loki had summoned Heimdall. Of course he couldn't exactly punish the guardian, but that didn't keep him from threatening him…

Unfortunately, Heimdall hadn't been that impressed. He kept apologizing for leaving the Bifröst, even though he had nothing to do with that, but he didn't seem that worried about his betrayal. When Loki confronted him with it, the guardian just said he had done what was best for Asgard.

The young king had to admit that he had changed and learned during his stay on Midgard. Maybe Heimdall was right… Maybe he had been doing things the wrong way…

And that brought Loki to a new problem…

-xxx-

The sound of cautious footsteps broke the silence. Loki turned around to face a slightly startled Jane who had just entered the throne room.

Loki immediately relaxed. For a second, he had been certain Lord Argus, who happened to be the most annoying advisor at the moment, had returned to point out again that "Asgard was in danger!"

Jane stood at the door, not quite sure if she could come in or not. Loki forced a kind smile on his face and gestured Jane enter. At least she was better company than all those naysayers…

Jane smiled hesitatingly and walked in.

"Hi…" she started nervously.

Loki, who had been standing on the balcony walked inside again and changed his appearance in his normal clothing. No staff, no cape… Jane seemed to relax a little bit.

"Is there something my _dear brother _can't solve for you?" Loki asked smiling.

Jane laughed.

"Yeah… I mean no… not really… well… maybe a little…" she stuttered. Jane shook her head.

"I doesn't matter…" she continued. "I was actually here because I wanted to go back to Earth…Thor told me you closed down the Bifröst…"

Loki frowned.  
"Why do you want to go back? It's not exactly safe there…"

"I don't want to stay, I just want to get some stuff… because… we're moving to Asgard…"

Loki tried hard to hide the smile which formed on his lips. To be honest, he had been hoping they would stay… not for Thor of for Jane, but for Frigga…

"Well…" Loki started while turning around. "I actually shouldn't…"

The young king walked over to the balcony and looked at the Bifröst in the distance.

"Heimdall…" he suddenly said, as if the guardian was standing next to him. "Is it safe to travel to Midgard right now?"

It stayed silent for a couple of seconds, until the Bifröst started turning.

Loki nodded. "All right… I guess I'll let you go this one time…"

Jane smiled. "Thank you, Lo…"

But the young king turned around and interrupted.

"On one condition…"

Jane turned silent again and watched Loki getting closer again. The young king looked at her in a serious way, which didn't really suit him….

"I want you to bring me all seven Harry Potter books!"

Jane let go of her breath and laughed. She though Loki was going to ask her something impossible.

"All right… I think I can manage that…" she said.

Loki smiled.  
"And some of that brown soda stuff…"

"Coca Cola?"

Loki nodded and turned around again, but halfway he thought of something else. He faced Jane again.

"And leaf that dreadful, talking sponge!" he said, almost sounding desperate. Jane had to do her best not to laugh.

"That won't be a problem…" she answered with a smile on her lips.

"Deal… you can leave whenever you want, but it has to be today and you better ask someone to join you…"

Jane nodded. "I'll ask Thor…" she answered, but Loki shook his head.

"No, no… I need Thor here for the moment. Someone has to listen to Lord Argus' complaints while I am pretending to listen…"

Jane smirked. "All right… but who comes with me then?"

Loki though about that for a moment.

"Arya… take Arya with you… I think she needs a break from those irritating recruits… A little field trip couldn't do her any harm, but try to stay out of trouble…"

Jane nodded. In fact she wasn't exactly looking forward to spending her day with Arya. Even though she didn't want to, Jane couldn't help to feel a little jealous about the girl who spend more time with her husband than she could herself. Jane understood of course, but still…

-xxx-

"Good morning, Jane Foster…" Heimdall said with a smile when the two women entered the Bifröst. Jane first, wearing her own clothes again and Arya, who was still dressed in her Asgardian clothes. At her hip hung a shining sword, but the most impressive weapon was the black bow on her back. It was not very big, but also not small. Next to it hung a quiver filled with black arrows with silver points and silver feathers. Across the years, Arya had carved beautiful drawings in the black wood of the bow, which made it look absolutely unique and elegant.

"Good morning…" Jane answered, while making her way to the front of the Bifröst. There she realised she didn't know how to travel with the rainbow bridge. Arya noticed and stood next to the nervous woman.

"Need a hand?" she asked kindly. Jane smiled shortly.

"All you have to do is let the rainbow grab you and keep still… The Bifröst does the rest…"

Jane swallowed and nodded.

Arya smiled.  
"Maybe I should go first…"

Without saying anything else, Arya stepped forward. Jane watched the rainbow grabbing her and sucking her away.

"You better hurry, Jane Foster…" Heimdall said behind her. "The Bifröst can't stay open forever…"

Jane nodded and with her heart beating out of her chest she stepped forward too. Immediately she felt the enormous power of the Bifröst pulling her away from the ground. Everywhere around her she saw the beautiful colours of the rainbow with behind it the universe and its stars rushing by. And just like that she suddenly felt solid ground beneath her feet. The rainbow disappeared and Jane found herself in the middle of nowhere, New York in the distance. In front of her stood Arya, who only just managed to catch Jane when she suddenly lost control over her legs.

"That is all right…" Arya said with a smile while helping Jane on her feet again. "When I first used the Bifröst on my own, I threw up in my father's face…"

Jane laughed slightly while not trying to think of that possibility… she wasn't feeling very well herself.

"We better start walking…." Jane said while brushing of the sand of her clothes. "I don't think it is wise to ask for a ride…"

Jane threw one look on Arya's outfit. If anyone saw her like that, they'd probably think she was nuts…

Arya nodded and followed Jane towards New York.

After what seemed hours, which was probably the case, the two of them finally reached the city. Arya jumped aside every two seconds when she saw car, or heard voices coming out of televisions. She also seemed rather impressed by a vending machine and kept staring at a street musician with a guitar.

Around two o'clock in the afternoon they arrived at Jane's apartment. Arya almost swooned by the side of the elevator ("a magical music box that flew up and down!"). Jane had to try hard not to start laughing. Honestly, she hadn't quite liked the unwanted attention she'd got from about everyone on the street. But Arya was also very entertaining.

"All right… this is what we're going to do… SHIELD probably already noticed I'm back, but I suppose they're also very busy with shutting up the event in Central Park and they got some Avengers to deal with. We don't have much time! You stay at the door! Keep everyone who wants come in, out! I'll just collect some stuff…"

Arya nodded and placed herself in front of the door. Jane immediately ran in Frigga's room to collect her bag and teddy bear. Afterwards she disappeared to her own room to return with a big backpack in which she dropped Frigga's stuff, a bag with her research, a supply of coke cans and some money. She looked around the apartment to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Somewhere in her heart she felt really sad. This was her home! And now she was leaving it for God knew how long… In silence, Jane stepped outside and closed the door. Afterwards she took her phone and typed a number.

The phone rang until Jarvis suddenly sounded at the other end.

"Miss Foster, how can I help you?"

"Jarvis, I need you to check for SHIELD agents. And I need the closest book shop you can find…"

"No SHIELD agents detected in this area. Closest book shop is two blocks away from your current position."

"Thanks Jarvis…"

"May I remind you that my last prediction about SHIELD wasn't correct… I cannot promise anything, Miss Foster…"

Jane smiled. Jarvis was actually apologizing!

"I'll take that chance, Jarvis! Thank you a lot! I owe you one…"

"Good luck Miss Foster!"

Jane didn't answer anymore. She didn't have time! With a quick move she put her phone in her pocket and rushed down the hall. Arya followed.

"What is this SHIELD you keep talking about, my lady?" she asked while Jane pushed the bottom of the elevator.

"Let's just say they don't like me at the moment… they're after Loki… And did you just call me 'my lady'?"

"Of course, my lady. You are married to prince Thor. That makes you royalty…"

Jane thought about that for a moment. She decided it sounded really weird!

"Why are they after our king?" Arya continued.

Jane turned silent. She couldn't tell Arya… She wouldn't understand...  
"I don't know, but they're wrong, in a way… they don't know anything!"

Arya frowned and watched the doors of the elevator open. Two men were standing inside, both looking in a different direction. Arya wanted to enter the _magical music box that flew up and down_, but Jane stopped her. The scientist's eyes scanned the two man. Something was wrong… they weren't looking at Arya…

Jane slowly reached for the button to close the doors when the two men suddenly drew a gun and aimed for Jane.

"Jane Foster…" one of them started, but he was cut off when a pitch black arrow cut threw his shoulder. The SHIELD agent screamed in agony and dropped the gun. His colleague fired at Arya, but the doors of the elevator closed just in time.

Jane didn't wait for them to open the doors again.

"Stairs!" she called out before rushing towards the banisters.

Jane didn't notice on what floor she was, she just ran! Arya was right behind her. Above them they could hear the footsteps of the two agents rushing down the stairs.

"Jane Foster! We don't want to harm you! You know what we want!" one of them called out.

Jane didn't listen.

_Third Floor…_

_Second Floor…._

_First Floor…._

_Ground Floor…_

Outside Jane could see five other Agents blocking the doors.

"Arya!" she said, out of breath.

"On it!" a voice sounded behind her, followed by the sound of an arrow put on a bow.

"Duck!" Arya shouted. Jane obeyed and dropped on the ground. Just above her head, the first black arrow flew towards the open doors, leaving a trail of air in its wake. The first agent dropped on the ground screaming, holding on to his wounded knee. The next four arrows followed so quickly that Jane couldn't tell which one hit which agent, but she honestly didn't care! Jane ran as fast as she could. Arya ran right beside her.

"Where are we going!" the Asgardian shouted.

"A bookshop!" Jane shouted in return.

"A bookshop?" Arya asked. "Why?"

Jane sighed while pushing some guys out of her way.

"Because your king is an annoying brat with good taste!"

* * *

**I hope you liked it!**

**Please Review! :)**

**Rumple x**


	25. Chapter 24

**Yes, yes, I know... a short one... :) Sorry, guys, but everything is happening pretty fast from now on, so the chapters might be a little shorter**

**I still hope you ENJOY! it ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 24**_

"Damn you, J.K. Rowling…" Jane muttered while trying to carry the way too thin plastic bag filled with books. Arya stumbled behind her, dragging a second bag along, filled with book five, six and seven of the Harry Potter series.

"Why would anyone wright so many, heavy books!"

"The books on Asgard are way thicker…" Arya said while running to catch up with Jane.

Jane sighed and pulled her bag up again because it kept scraping over the ground.

"That was a rhetorical question…" she said. "J.K. Rowling's books are great! Real page-turners! Just a bit… well… heavy… Long live the e-books!"

"Eat-books?" Arya asked. "You eat books?"

Jane shook her head. "Never mind…"

The two women walked further until they reached Jane's car. After all, they had to get out a lot faster now and by foot, SHIELD would definitely catch up with them. The only reason why they hadn't done that yet was probably because they didn't exactly expected them to go shopping first.

Jane smiled. She imagined what it would be like to tell SHIELD why she went to the bookshop first. It would be like: "Oh, nothing really, just had to buy some Harry Potter books for the king of Asgard. Loki, you might have heard from him…"

Jane opened the door and got in the car. She put her bag and the books on the backseat, just in case she would have to leave quickly. Arya hesitated and stared at the car which looked like a monster from her point of view.

"Come on! Get in!" Jane shouted over the roaring of the engine coming to life. Arya jumped back.

"It's going to eat me!" she shouted while putting an arrow on her bow, ready to shoot.

"It won't! And don't you dare to shoot my car! We need it!"

Arya didn't seemed convinced, until suddenly three black cars came driving around the corner.

"But those ones just might!" Jane shouted while opening the other door. "Get in!"

Arya put away her bow and jumped in the car. Even before she had closed the door, Jane stepped on the gas and drove away.

"Put on your seatbelt!" she shouted while turning the car to leave the parking lot.

"My what?" Arya asked in panic just before she was thrown back and forth in her chair.

Jane had never driven this fast. She ignored every traffic light, every angry driver and every police car that followed her.

"I take it that they don't like you either!" Arya called out. Jane smirked.

"I must say, I like you, my lady!" Arya continued. She was always in for a bit of adventure every now and then and even though she was scared to death at the moment and she'd seen every corner of the car and she felt like she had to puke, she still liked it!

Jane smiled.  
"Just so you know… Most people drive a lot safer! I just had the privilege to spend time in London together with my intern, Darcy, and an English car!"

"I would certainly like to meet her!" Arya said with a smile. Jane laughed. She had to admit: Arya wasn't all that bad…

Finally, Jane drove out the city, racing towards the place where the Bifröst had hit. Loki had told them to go to the exact same spot since that was the safest distance.

The police cars put on the brakes at the edge of the city and the wiling sirens faded away in the distance, but the black SHIELD cars just rushed past them and continued their pursuit.

Now that she didn't have to care about corners and people on the street anymore, Jane stepped on the gas once more.

In front of her, she could already see the dark markings of the Bifröst on the ground. Jane slammed on the brakes and the car stopped.

"Get out!" Jane called over the roaring of the SHIELD cars getting closer. Arya threw open her door, grabbed her bag with the books and ran over to the markings. Jane took her bag and the books and followed, just when the black cars came to a stop right in front of her. The doors opened and the SHIELD Agents got out, pointing their guns at the two women. Arya readied her bow.

"Don't move!" one SHIELD Agent ordered, but it was in vain. The Bifröst hit the ground and sucked both women away before any Agent could do anything, leaving only dust and sand behind to hide their defeated faces.

-xxx-

Laughing excitedly, Jane and Arya entered the Bifröst.

"That was awesome!" Jane called out while making a small jump into the air.

"Indeed, it was!" Arya answered with smile while putting away her arrow.

Jane cleared her throat and put on a serious face again.

"I mean of course: that was really dangerous, irresponsible and deadly and…" she said, but the excitement was clearly visible. "I want to do it again!"

Arya laughed.

"You…" Jane continued while pointing at Arya. "You are such an incredible archer!"

Arya blushed slightly. "I must say you are a remarkable driver…"

"And with remarkable you mean dangerous?" Jane asked with a grin.

Arya bit her lip. "Maybe a little…"

Both women laughed hysterically.

"Jane!" a voice suddenly sounded. Outside, Thor landed on the bridge and ran in the Bifröst, looking more worried than ever. "Are you all right!"

Jane cleared her throat once more and tried to look at least a bit serious.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! Just a little race with SHIELD. That's all! I'm all right…"

Thor took Jane in his arms and hugged her so tightly that she could hear her rips crack. Arya stopped laughing and bowed her head in shame, suddenly remembering who Jane and Thor were…

"My apologies, my Prince, I tried hard to protect, my la…"

Arya was interrupted when she heard the trampling of hoofs getting closer. A second later they all say Loki descending his horse and walking in the Bifröst as if nothing had happened.

Arya bowed.  
"My King… my apologies, I faile…"

But Loki cut her off by raising his hand.

"You did pretty well…" he said shortly to Arya's surprise.

"Why didn't you ask me to come with you?" Thor asked to Jane, who was trying to free herself from Thor's hug. She looked up at her husband.

"Loki said he wanted you here…" she answered. Thor looked up at his brother. Loki smiled.

"How dare you!" the God of Thunder shouted. "You didn't need me at all! Jane could be dead!"

Loki scowled because of Thor's bluntness, but he didn't say anything about it.

Arya frowned. "But why did you send me then?" she asked before she could stop herself. The young king looked up at her.

"… M.. My king…" she finished.

Loki smiled. "I actually wanted to see what you could do…" he simply answered. Arya didn't know what to feel. She was surprised, but also very proud. She had not failed her king!

Thor, on the other hand, didn't seem too pleased with Loki's reason.

"Jane could have died!" he repeated, walking over to his brother. Loki didn't move and looked Thor straight in the eyes.

"Except that she did not…" he said.

Thor turned red of anger.

Loki sighed.  
"Thor, please… I am not stupid. I wouldn't have send them down if I didn't think Arya could defend herself and others. And honestly, I think Jane did quite a good job herself!"

"Oh yes!" Arya added. "Jane Foster saved my life too!"

Loki pulled up his eyebrows and faced his brother as if he wanted to say: "See…"

Thor groaned. Jane walked over to her husband and put her hand in his.

"Really, Thor… It was nothing… And honestly, I had a lot of fun! It was dangerous, completely crazy, but amazing!"

"Why wouldn't they be allowed to have a little fun…" Loki asked with a childish tone to his voice.

Thor sighed and shook his head. "You are unbelievable…"

Loki grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment…"

The two brothers looked at each other until also Thor showed a little smile.

"Arya, you're excused." Loki said while turning to Arya. "Your horse is waiting outside. Good job…"

The Asgardian women bowed and smiled. "Thank you, my King…" she said before walking outside.

Afterwards Loki walked over to Jane.

"You have my books?" he asked nonchalantly. Jane smiled and showed Loki the two books.

Loki's eyes grew big. "Those are some enormous books…" he said between his teeth before he smiled. "And my Coca Cola?"

"In the bag…" Jane said, gesturing to her backpack with her head. Loki smiled once more.

"Excellent!"

"You asked her to bring you stuff!" Thor asked in disbelief while walking over to his wife and looked inside the bags. "Harry Potter… seriously?"

Loki pulled up his shoulders.

"You are…" Thor started, not really sure he had to be angry or amused.

"Brilliant!" Loki finished his sentence. "I know…"

The young king turned his back on the couple and walked outside the Bifröst. He mounted his horse and looked down on Thor who helped Jane enter the boat that had just arrived.

"By the way, Thor… now I really need you to listen to Lord Argus's nagging while I'm pretending to… Don't be late!" he said with a smile, just before spurring on his horse and galloping down the bridge.

* * *

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	26. Chapter 25

**Okay... it took a while... so sorry... hope you don't hate me ;)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 25**_

"Oh, Mummy! You look beautiful!"

"Thank you, sweetie…"

Jane smiled while picking up Frigga's sweater she had thrown on the ground after changing into her new Asgardian robes. For the last hour, the little girl had insisted that her mother tried on everything in the closet. In the end Jane had chosen to stay with the light brown dress, she'd worn the last time she'd been on Asgard. Frigga on the other hand only wanted the most striking set of clothes ever. The maids of the palace had made her a beautiful silver dress, which made her blue eyes sparkle like two sapphires. Her golden hair hung loose over her shoulders and she had one thin braid tucked away behind her right ear.

"Mummy, mummy!" Frigga shouted enthusiastically while jumping on the bed. "You think daddy would take me for a flight? And Loki promised he would teach me magic, mummy! Real magic! Like Harry Potter, mummy! And he really likes Harry Potter! Oh, he does!"

Jane laughed and caught her daughter in mid-air. Frigga cheered in excitement.

"I think it's time for miss. Princes to get some sleep…" she said while trying to put Frigga under the blanket.

"I'm not tired mummy! I want to see the castle first!"

"You'll have plenty of time to do that tomorrow…"

"And do you think Arya would teach me how to shoot a bow like she can?"

Jane scowled. She didn't really like the idea of her daughter handling weapons.

"We'll see about that… Now you really need to…"

Jane was interrupted by a sudden hard knock on the door. Jane sighed. Couldn't they leave her alone for a second…

"Frigga, it's time to sleep! I'll be back in a second to tuck you in…"

Frigga nodded vaguely and jumped of the bed. Jane sighed and rubbed her forehead. Of all things she'd feared to face on Asgard, this must have been the one she hadn't seen coming…

In thought, Jane walked over to the way to heavy front door of the room. With some trouble she managed to open it. Out of breath she looked up at the visitor. It was a guard, a guard she hadn't seen before. Not that she had met many guards….

"Can I help you?" Jane asked.

The guard smiled.  
"I have the feeling I'm interrupting something…"

Jane pulled up her eyebrows. This was a weird one… The guard continued.

"Actually, I came to collect my books…"

Jane's eyebrows shot even further up her forehead, until it struck her. That smile, the way he was talking…

"Loki?" she asked in surprise. The guard grinned and for a second his brown eyes turned light grey.

Jane laughed and stepped aside to let Loki in. "What are you doing?" she asked while trying to shut the door again. Once it had closed, the room was lit up by a short green flash.

Loki looked round him. He didn't need to search far, because two seconds later Frigga came running in the room with her arms held open, ready to hug her uncle.

"Loki!" she cried out while closing her arms around Loki's legs. The young king smiled. In fact he didn't really care to show his affection towards Frigga anymore. After all, it annoyed Thor and irritating his brother was always fun…

Loki laughed and picked up the little girl. Again she cheered in excitement until her arms and legs found Loki's body in a tight hug.

Jane turned away from the door and pulled up her eyebrows once more when she witnessed the sight in front of her, but when the first surprise had disappeared she couldn't do anything but smile. She knew Frigga had missed Loki extremely and she was sure that Loki had missed Frigga too.

"Loki, Loki, Loki! Are you gonna teach me magic now?" Frigga asked. Loki looked down on the girl.

"I.. errr… I don't really have the time now, but… later…"

Frigga frowned, but she knew that when people said "later" that you better stopped asking.

"So? Why the disguise?" Jane asked.

Loki turned around with Frigga in his arms to face Jane.  
"I didn't want to attract to much attention. All the bowing and complaining is getting annoying.

Jane nodded. "Understandable… anyway, your books…"

Loki blinked as if he had forgotten about the books. "Yes… my books…"

Jane picked up the two plastic bags standing in the corner of the room and walked over to the young king.

"All yours…" she said. "And this…", she continued while empting her backpack,"is also for you. Coca cola, like you ordered."

Loki nodded vaguely. "Eeerr.. Could I leave the cans here? I don't really have any place to store them where no one can see them. I mean.. Asgardians might think it a bit weird…"

Jane smiled almost invisibly. She knew Loki was just searching for an excuse to drop by every now and then, but she nodded.

"Of course…"

Just at that moment the heavy door opened again and Thor entered. He watched Loki holding Frigga and frowned.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. He was still a little bit cross with his brother. Loki noticed it and scowled.

"Not to see your beautiful face, _brother…_"

Thor slammed the door shut. He really didn't want to see Loki at the moment. On his way towards his room, he'd been stopped by Lord Argus and Lord Gunnar, only to hear their same complaints again. Something that hadn't made him any happier.

Jane looked from one brother the other and softly whistled between her teeth.

"Frigga…" she started. "It's time for bed…"

"But…"

"Now Frigga…"

Loki slowly put Frigga on the ground without taking his eyes of his brother. The little girl shivered as if she could feel the cold stares the two men were sending each other. She quickly followed her mother towards her part of the room.

"I thought you were working on a plan?" Thor asked harshly. Loki smiled while walking a bit closer to his brother.

"I am…"

"Clearly…" Thor answered sarcastically.

Loki watched his brother for a couple of seconds.  
"I think you are just jealous…"

Thor smirked. "Jealous? Of you?"

Loki pulled up his shoulders. His eyes turned dark. "No one would blame you, of course. I mean… your brother is king… and he is so much better at everything you want to do…"

Thor took a deep breath. He knew Loki was comparing him to how he, himself, used to feel in the past. Awkwardly enough… Loki did have a point… But Thor wasn't going to let Loki win that fast. He sniffed and answered: "I think… you are not doing your job!"

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You're a king, for God's sake, but you let your people starve!"

"I can't do anything else!" Loki shouted back.

"Oh yes, you can! You just don't want to see it! You're a coward!"

"As if you would do it any other way!"

" I would!" Thor shouted furiously. "I would fight!"

Loki raised his arm and pointed at his brother. "And that is exactly where you have always been wrong!"

Thor couldn't take it anymore. "Listen well, brother…"

"NO! YOU LISTEN TO ME!" Loki interrupted furiously. Thor was so surprised that the words got stuck in his throat. Loki continued while taking a step closer to the startled God of Thunder.

"I am king! You listen to me! You have no idea in what kind of danger I would bring myself, and by doing that, also the rest of Asgard and even the other realms in the end! But of course, that doesn't matter to the Mighty Thor! He just waves his hammer around and everyone will fall down and kiss his feet! That is not how things work, Thor! I suggest you get used to that!"

Both brothers stood face to face, breathing heavily. Thor refused to break the eye contact, but that also counted for Loki.

"Okay… I promise I'll stay out of your brilliant plan of destruction…" Thor silently whispered. "But we still need a plan! And we need one quickly!"

Loki turned silent for a couple of seconds, thinking over the possibilities. Finally, he took a step back and forced the dark expression of his face.

"All right then… If you want to bring Asgard in danger… I'm okay with that… After all, with a little bit of luck, my plan might be our salvation after all…"

Thor frowned and watched his brother walk over to the door, carrying the two bags in his hands.

"But don't say I didn't warn you…"

Just before opening the door, Loki changed his appearance again into that of the guard. He turned towards Thor and said in his own voice: "Meet me tomorrow in the throne room, ten o'clock, sharp!"

With that said Loki opened the door and walked into the hall.

After the door had fallen shut again, Thor turned to face Jane who had followed the conversation from behind the corner. She bit her lip.

"You think that was wise?" she asked. "Have you any idea what his plan might be?"

Thor walked over to his wife and put one arm around her. He kissed her softly on the forehead.

"That was absolutely the most stupid thing I could have done, but I wasn't kidding. We need a plan, even if it might harm Asgard afterwards…"

Jane looked at the door as if Loki was still standing there. "I just hope he knows what he is doing…"

-xxx-

The next morning Thor decided to get up at half past nine. Not that he had slept that much. The whole night he had been wondering about Loki's plan and what Loki meant with "danger". As silent as possible, the God of Thunder put on his clothes and cape. After a some hesitation, he decided to take Mjölnir with him, just in case... Just when he walked towards the door, a sudden voice made him jump a foot in the air.

"Daddy?"

Thor looked down and saw the worried face of his daughter. She was all dressed and seemed right awake.

"I want to come with you daddy!" she said. Thor sighed.

"You can't, sweetheart…" he said, but he was cut off when Jane also entered the room. Thor pulled up his eyebrows.

"I'm tired of sitting here and doing nothing, Thor…" Jane said. "Whatever Loki's plan may be, we'll find out sooner or later. I'm coming with you!"

Thor looked at his wife speechless. He swallowed. "But… Frigga…"

"Frigga's is coming too!" Jane quickly added. "She's not staying here by herself!"

"But it might be dangerous!" Thor said. Jane pulled up her shoulders.

"If it is, Loki will not allow us to come…"

Thor wanted to say something else, but he couldn't find the words. He sighed.

"All right then…" he muttered while opening the door. "We better leave then… We don't want to keep Loki waiting…"

-xxx-

Loki was lost in thoughts. He stared through the throne room without really paying attention to what he saw. The young king still wasn't sure he'd made the right decision. Maybe it was too soon, or maybe it was already too late…

Loki groaned and rubbed his forehead just when the doors opened and Thor entered. The young king took a deep breath and got too his feet, until he saw Jane and Frigga enter the room too. Loki frowned and descended the stairs.

"What are they doing here?" he asked a little more harshly than he meant.

"Jane and Frigga wanted to come…"

"I didn't give permission for that…" Loki started, but Jane interrupted.

"Excuse me, correct me if I'm wrong, but since I am married to Thor, the prince of Asgard and therefore the next in line, I think it is only logical for me to understand the ways of Asgard…"

Thor, Loki and even Frigga looked at Jane with surprise covering their faces. Jane smiled softly.

"Well I mean… err.. right?"

Frigga looked away from her mother and waited for Loki to say something. Thor did the same. Loki on the other hand didn't know what just had happened. Of course Jane had a point, but she had completely overthrown him. Now he came to think of it… Thor was indeed the next in line…

Loki shivered almost invisibly… Even now, all he had to do to make his brother king after all, was die…

"Err.. I eeer…" Loki tried. He cleared his throat. "I suppose…"

Jane smiled a little too enthusiastically and quickly forced a serious expression on her face again. She wasn't really planning on becoming queen of Asgard. She just really wanted to know what was going on.

Loki shook his head and shared a look with Thor, who pulled up his eyebrows. He hadn't seen this coming either...

"I see…" Loki continued. "All right.. you can come, but you have to do exactly as I say!"

Jane nodded her head. Frigga nodded her head like a lunatic. This was so exciting!

Loki smiled sadly. He hoped Frigga would stay this happy…

-xxx-

Thor looked around. Five minutes before, they'd left the throne room and had followed Loki through the hallways. All the way, Loki hadn't said a word, but just kept walking and walking without paying attention to the guards who bowed when they passed. The worst thing was that Thor knew where they were going. Loki was leading them towards the dungeons!

Thor watched Loki, walking just in front of him, keeping up a fast pace. He knew that if he asked any question, his brother would only get more annoyed, so he kept silent.

Five more minutes past and finally they reached the dungeons. The first cell on the left was empty. It had been Loki's cell. Thor tried to ignore it. Frigga, who had been whispering excitedly the whole way, turned silent and grabbed her mother's hand a bit tighter. She absolutely didn't like this place. Jane was starting to regret her decision to join Thor. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea… She walked over to Thor and looked her husband in the eyes for a second. Thor nodded. He tightened his grip on Mjölnir, just in case Loki was going to try something…

The four of them kept walking and Thor started to wonder where Loki was going. Why were they in the dungeons in the first place?

Cells past and every time, the prisoners seemed more and more dangerous. Their eyes followed Loki and Thor, wanting them to look back, but both brothers were used to ignoring stares like this and just fixed on the path before them. Jane and Frigga on the other hand hadn't felt more uncomfortable in their whole life. Jane picked up her daughter and held her close to her body in an attempt to calm the little girl down.

Just when Thor wanted to ask Loki what he was up to, they arrived at a heavy, golden door and Thor swallowed. Now he knew where they were going, but it didn't really put him at ease… The God of Thunder stepped next to his brother.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" he asked in an angry whisper. "That is the most secure prison cell on Asgard!"

"Exactly…" Loki answered with a grin. Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Only the most dangerous criminals are kept there! Are you planning on letting Jane and Frigga enter that!"

"They wanted to come…" Loki simply said while putting his golden staff in a whole next to the door.

"Loki!" Thor almost shouted while taking hold of the sceptre. "What are you doing!"

The young smiled while pushing Thor's hand of the gold of his staff. "Let's just say… we're visiting some old friends…"

* * *

**I know, it's not very long... ****Especially ****not after waiting for such a long time... I'm sorry!**

**I still hoped you enjoyed it!**

**Please review! **

**Rumple x**


	27. Chapter 26

**Here's the next one!**

**ENJOY**

* * *

_**Chapter 26**_

Thor watched his brother push the golden sceptre into the whole. Behind the door he could hear ancient, magical locks click open.

_Old friends? _Thor thought. And then it suddenly struck him. An uncontrollable rage filled his body from tip to toe. With one might leap, Thor jumped right in front of his brother, preventing him to walk through the now open doors.

"You bastard!" he shouted furiously, raising his hammer. Jane was so surprised by Thor's sudden outburst that she took a step back. What had she missed?

Loki on the other hand, didn't seem impressed at all. He just sighed and threw his brother a bored look.

"Now, now… we're not going to shout, are we…" he said sarcastically. "Remember your daughter is present. We don't want to spoil her upbringing with your nasty words, brother…"

Thor took a step towards Loki. His face was inches away from his brother's, but the young king still didn't show any kind of fear.

"They are your fr.."

"Were!" Loki interrupted. "They were my friends, Thor…"

Thor turned silent. He refused to break eye contact.

Loki's eyes turned dark.  
"They were my friends…" he repeated in a hard whisper. "Our friendship was lost a long time ago… Just in case you forgot: every single one of them has threatened to kill me!"

"That might have something to do with the fact that you wanted to kill me in the first place!" Thor hissed back.

Loki pulled up his eyebrows and bit his lip, showing his most innocent face possible. "I was simply avoiding the crowning of a useless king…"

Thor took a deep breath. "Your pathetic sense of hatred and revenge doesn't give you the right to imprison Asgard's best warriors!"

Loki smiled. "No, but being king does! It was simply too dangerous!"

"Dangerous!" Thor shouted. "Then why are you freeing them now?"

Loki sighed and stepped past Thor.

"Asgard is in need of good warriors…

"What makes you think they will trust you enough…"

"I don't think they will trust me! I told you this would bring us in danger… But don't be afraid, brother… That is why you are here!"

"And why do you think I still trust you! You imprisoned my friends! For almost six years!"

"I told you before, Thor! You can't trust me, but you know I only would do something in favour of Asgard. Letting these people starve and bring chaos and ruin to the nine realms is not going to get me anywhere!"

Thor looked away. He knew Loki was right.

The young king searched for eye contact.  
"Now is the time to decide if you accept me as your king or not! When we enter these prison cells, your friends won't even think about the possibility of me being their ruler. Only you can persuade them! They only listen to you, as they've done their entire lives!"

Thor hesitated so Loki saw his chance.

"Please Thor… Asgard needs them, we ALL need them!"

The God of Thunder sighed.  
"All right, but don't think this will be easy! If they don't want to listen, it will never work and Asgard is doomed!"

Loki nodded his head and gestured Thor to lead the way, but Jane's voice interrupted.

"I don't want to interrupt your lovely conversation, but can someone fill me in on… well… everything! I'm not following!"

Loki and Thor shared a look.

"Loki imprisoned Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. He wants to release them now. And he needs me to keep them from killing him…"

Jane pulled up her eyebrows. She loosened her grip on her daughter. "Oh… I see…" she said. All this time she had thought that they were on their way to their doom... Now everything seemed a lot more reasonable.

Frigga jumped out of her mother's arms and joined her father.

"I am going to meet Lady Sif!" she cried in excitement while pulling her father's hand.

"Steady, Frigga! It is not that simple!" Thor called out.

"Actually," Loki interrupted nonchalantly, "it is that simple! Now, if you're done with wasting my and Asgard's time, I suggest we get going!"

Frigga almost jumped a foot in the air of excitement and pulled her father after Loki... Until they were brought to a halt once more by Jane's voice. Everyone looked back. Jane stood at the entrance of the hall. She tried to walk through the doors, but for some reason she just couldn't. An invisible force prevented her from following the others.

"Thor!" she called out. Thor and Loki frowned, but at the same time they remembered again.

"Right… I forgot…" Loki said. "Only Asgardians can pass through that door. Nothing personal… Just for your own safety…"

Jane stared at the young king in awe.

"Safety!" she screamed. "And your taking my five year old daughter!"

"Almost six!" Frigga reminded her mother.

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's only Sif and the Warriors Three… They would never hurt her!"

"You just said…"

"I know what I said! These cells are NORMALLY meant for the most dangerous criminals. NOW they're for… safekeeping…"

"If only Asgardians can enter..." Jane continued. "How is it that you can enter? You're a Frost Giant!"

Loki scowled. "I'm Asgardian enough… just like Frigga…"

Jane shook her head. "Frigga is not going without me! Frigga, come here!"

Frigga's expression turned sad. "But, mummy… I'm going to meet Lady Sif!"

"You can meet her here too!"

"But mummy…"

"Actually, I think it is better if Frigga joins us…" Loki interrupted. "She might come in very handy to calm them down. You know how much they like kids…"

"You are not going to use her as a sweetener!" Thor joined in the conversation.

"Oh, but I like being sweetener!" Frigga quickly interrupted. "Please mummy! Please daddy!"

Both parents shared a look.

"Loki says I can!" Frigga added.

"Yes…" Loki confirmed with a smile. "Loki says she can…"

Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead. He realised Loki had a point. He shared another look with his wife. Jane sighed and finally nodded.

"All right then… I'll just wait here, all alone…" she said softly.

"Okay!" Frigga shouted in response. "Come on daddy!"

-xxx-

They walked for another five minutes, passing empty cells before the end of the hall became visible. Loki stopped. Thor looked at his brother and saw that Loki was in fact pretty scared. Somewhere, Thor felt bad for him. Even though he hated Loki for imprisoning his friends, it couldn't have been easy to make this decision.

"So, what do you want to do?" Thor asked. "Do they know you're king?"

Loki shook his head, knowing that would only make Thor more angry, but it didn't matter anymore. He would find out soon enough.

"Great…" Thor muttered. "They think the Allfather imprisoned them… and they think he's still king…"

"Then we just tell them Loki is king now…" Frigga interrupted impatiently. She really didn't see what all the fuss was about.

Loki smiled difficultly. "Of course… let's just tell them that…" he said sarcastically.

"Yes!" Frigga confirmed happily, not noticing Loki's irony. She let go of her father's hand and ran towards he light at the end of the hall.

"Frigga! Wait!" Thor called out. Both brother's immediately ran after the little girl, but it was too late. Frigga ran in the last part of the hall and found herself in between four cells. Two on her right, two on her left. The people sitting inside them were so surprised that they didn't even got the chance to say anything. Frigga stopped, crossed her arms in front of her chest and put a serious expression on her young face.

"Loki is the King of Asgard now! He's been king for six years and he's been doing really great! If you have any problem with that, you… well… you got to deal with it!"

Thor stopped Loki just before they entered the light of the cells. He watched his daughter in disbelief. He wasn't the only one, though. Loki was awe struck and couldn't believe Frigga had really just said that. But that was nothing compared to the surprise of the four prisoners. For the last five years, almost six, they'd been locked away in these cells, seeing no one but the guards who brought their food. And now, a little girl, they'd never seen before, but seemed oddly familiar, just busted in.

Lady Sif was the first to find her voice again. She got up from her chair in the second cell on the right and walked over to the golden force field, preventing her to escape. She looked down on the little girl.

"Excuse me, child, but who are you?" she asked.

Frigga almost swooned when she realised that Lady Sif, her idol was speaking to her! She dropped her arms and smiled. "Hi, Lady Sif, my name is…"

"Frigga!" Thor interrupted.

Sif couldn't believe her eyes. "Thor!" she said in upmost surprise. The Warriors Three: Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun, also walked towards the force field to see their old friend.

"What are you doing here!" Sif continued.

"Daddy! Daddy! It's Lady Sif!"

"Yes Frigga…"

"Daddy?" Fandral asked with his usual sneer playing on his lips. Even the years of imprisonment couldn't take that away... He shared a look with the other three prisoners.

Frigga nodded her head. "Yes, he's my daddy!" she proudly explained.

Sif scowled. "Who's your mother…" she asked.

"Jane! Jane Foster! I am Frigga Foster!" Frigga said in return, not noticing the jealousy in Sif's voice. Thor bit his lip when he saw his friends eyes turn even darker.

"Right.. Frigga, why don't you wait there for a second while I explain the situation"

Frigga scowled. "But I already did that! I told them that L…"

"Yes… yes, but…"

"Yes.. what was she talking about?" Fandral interrupted.

"She said something about…" Sif continued, but she wasn't really sure she'd heard what she thought she'd heard.

"Loki…" Volstagg finished for her. His voice sounded dark.

Thor sighed. "Right…"

"Ye-ees…" Frigga interrupted again feeling as if no one was paying attention to anything she was saying. "I said Loki is the King! You have to listen!"

Everyone turned silent and looked at Thor. The God of Thunder softly groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"All right! Since we just skipped our plan of being subtle, there is no use in hiding anymore…"

All eyes fixed on Loki who walked onto the scene until he stood next to Thor.

"Surprise…" he said with a grin. Sif and the Warriors Three couldn't believe their eyes. Inside they started to boile and a hundred words were fighting to find their way through their mouths.

"See!" Frigga said. "That wasn't so hard…" Thor and Loki both looked down on the girl after which they looked at each other. Loki kneeled in front of the little girl and tried to smile. He wasn't mad or anything, but he really thought that one more remark of the his niece would blow the whole room to pieces.

"Frigga… why don't you go back to your mother and wait there for us…"

Frigga frowned and turned sad. "Why?" she asked. "Did I say something wrong…"

Loki opened his mouth, knowing he would probably start listing everything she had said wrong, but he managed to keep silent.

The young king smiled. "In fact… No… You haven't… But I really think you should go back now…"

Loki bit his tongue. His niece looked at him in disbelief. What was he saying? Why couldn't she stay?

Suddenly, a friendly smile appeared on Loki's face. "You know what? Why don't you go to your mum to tell her all about the magic I'm going to teach you after we're done here?"

Frigga's face lit up. "Really?" she asked in a whisper.

"Really really… but only if you go to Jane now…"

Frigga nodded, hugged Loki, waved at everyone while saying "Goodbye everybody!" and turned around to run all the way back to the big doors where her mother was still waiting for her.

Loki got to his feet while clearing his throat. He looked at Thor and grinned.

"Well, that was remarkably easy…" he said with smile.

The God of Thunder scowled.  
"I don't want you to teach her magic…" he said harshly.

"We'll talk about that later!" Loki answered with a look around him. All four of his former friends were trembling with rage.

The young king sighed.  
"Where were we…"

* * *

**Let me know what you think! I'll try uploding as soon as possible :)**

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	28. Chapter 27

**Next chapie! ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 27**_

Loki groaned and closed his eyes while rubbing his forehead. For the past ten minutes he had heard nothing but an infernal racket consisting of the ongoing screams, insults and meaningless shouts of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three and every now and then the pitiful attempts of Thor to create some kind of order in the chaos. The young king tightened his grip on the sceptre. If it hadn't been made out of pure gold, he'd probably would have crushed it in his palm. Loki clenched his teeth. He really couldn't take it anymore. Every second now he would…

"SHUT IT!"

There you had it. Even before Loki had realised it, the words had left his mouth, immediately followed by a swift movement of his arm. The golden staff hit the ground and the whole room trembled. The force fields crackled with energy and blew all four prisoners backwards inside their cell.

Immediately every sound disappeared, only to make place for a profound silence which send shivers down everyone's spine. Lady Sif and the Warrior Three crawled to their feet again, groaning and moaning. They walked back to the force field and looked down on Loki who hadn't moved a muscle and just let his eyes wonder over the four prisoners, showing nothing but pure anger and power.

"I suggest…" Loki started. His voice trembled with rage. His eyes turned dark and a serious expression covered his face. "I suggest… that we skip Thor's pathetic attempt to fill you in in the last five years… I do not ask you to trust me or even follow me. All I want is for all of you to consider the possibility that there is more going on in the universe then your ridiculous feelings of betrayal and revenge!"

Loki's voice faded away through the hall. He waited a couple more seconds to make sure his words had effect.

"Asgard and Vanaheim are on the edge of starvation! We barely have enough forces to protect ourselves, let alone any other realm! You don't trust me? Fine! Just follow your basic instincts, as you have done your entire lives! But at the moment, Asgard needs your help!"

The hall stayed silent for a couple of seconds. Thor stared at his brother, not really knowing what to think of everything. Sometimes he had to remind himself that Loki had been king for five years and, no matter what others whispered behind their backs, Loki was nothing less than one of the best king's Asgard had known. But nonetheless, Thor was still impressed and somewhere in his heart, also incredibly proud…

Sif and the Warriors Three shared a look.

"And how do we know this is not one of your tricks? How do we know you're not lying?" Sif asked. Loki rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to answer, but Thor was first.

"Because I tell you he's not…"

All eyes, including Loki's turned to the God of Thunder. The young king still hadn't fully adjusted to the idea that Thor was at his side this time…

"If you don't want to trust him, that's fine, I don't either." Thor continued. "But I know that what he's telling you is the truth! Asgard needs you!"

"What exactly do you need us do?" Volstagg asked after a couple of seconds. Even though his question was meant for Loki, he just looked right past the young king and fixed his eyes on Thor. The God of Thunder looked at his brother.

Loki took a small step forward. "Asgard is in need of a new army, new warriors to protect us. Due unfortunate circumstances, we have lost all our warriors but the new recruits. On top of that, we have also lost every single Master, which results in only a bunch of rude, undisciplined, useless recruits!"

Sif sniffed and smiled, but there was nothing friendly about her smile.

"What kind of king loses his forces like that in the first place? You're the one who's useless!"

Loki's eyes turned even darker, but the young king quickly raised his hand to prevent Thor from interfering.

"Well, my lady Sif… this useless king holds the key to your cell…" Loki said in a low, creepy voice.

Sif walked over to the force field and pierced her eyes into Loki's.  
"I would gladly spend the rest of eternity in chains, locked away in the crypts of Asgard than serve you for one second! You will never be my king!"

Loki was trembling with rage. He felt the blood racing through his veins. The sound of it muted everything around him. Just before Loki opened his mouth, ready to raise his arm to blow Sif back, Thor jumped in between him and the cell. Loki blinked confusedly. His brother looked… angry…

Thor took a deep breath and looked from Sif to Loki and back.

"Just in case it wasn't clear! With 'unfortunate circumstances' Loki meant the Captain taking over Asgard during Loki's absence!"

Sif frowned and took a step back.

"You mean you left Asgard in the hands of a lunatic!" she screamed furiously. Loki wanted to shout something back, but Thor was quicker once again.

"The Captain had lost his mind, Sif! There was no way Loki or anyone else could foresee what would happen. You knew the Captain! He has served Odin for many years…"

Sif's yaw tightened. She knew Thor was right... She had known The Captain. In her eyes he had been a brave and good man.

"And why exactly did our 'charming king' stay away so long? Why would he ignore the desperate calls of his kingdom!" Fandral suddenly asked in the cell next to them with a smirk covering his face.

"Because no one was calling!" Thor answered angrily while turning to the fencer. "The Captain had imprisoned Heimdall. And secondly, because of me!"

All four prisoners looked up in surprise and fixed their eyes on the God of Thunder. Thor looked them in the eye one by one, before continuing.

"I didn't let Loki go…"

"You mean Loki was on Midgard?" Volstagg asked in amazement.

Thor nodded.  
"Indeed, on Earth, where he saved my daughter's life, not to mention mine too!"

Loki smacked uncomfortably. He really didn't like the way Thor was praising him… Did he really save his brother's life too? The young king tried to find the memory of, that probably really desperate, moment in his life… He did push Thor aside when that idiotic SHIELD Agent had shot the Destroyer-weapon… Did that count as saving his life?

The others in the room stared at Thor in disbelief. In fact they didn't have any difficulty with believing Loki was capable of saving people since he'd saved their lives more than once during battles in the past. They just weren't sure Loki was _still _capable of doing that…

"I am not saying that Loki was right to imprison, but what I do know is that he is worth believing in!"

Fandral coughed sarcastically and shared a look with Volstagg who tried hard not to start laughing. Especially Loki's face was very entertaining. The young king felt as if he needed to puke!

Sif and Hogun on the other hand, kept a straight face and seemed to overthink Thor's words.

"If understand it correctly: you need us to teach a couple of rascals how to fight properly?"

Thor nodded, but was interrupted by Fandral.

"Teaching new recruits is far beneath me! Beneath all of us! We are Warriors of Asgard!"

Thor and Loki shared a looked. They both had to admit that they hadn't missed Fandral's remarkably annoying pride.

"We understand that…" Loki continued. "But unless you want to defend Asgard against intruders in the future on your own, I think you all understand that we need back up…"

"I don't mind being the only warrior…" Fandral answered nonchalantly. "Leaves more girls for me!"

Everyone in the room sighed and decided to ignore Fandral for the next couple of minutes.

"How exactly did the Captain manage to kill all our troops in a matter of weeks?" Volstagg suddenly asked.

"We'll fill you in on the details later…" Loki answered. "Are you in or not?"

The young king looked around him. He knew his despair was visible in his eyes. If they didn't want to cooperate, Asgard was lost…

The Warriors Three looked at each other and afterwards fixed their attention on Sif. The female warrior met their eyes. For a couple of seconds silent messages were send between the four friends.

Finally lady Sif nodded. She turned towards Loki.

"I don't need to believe you, nor trust you, but I did swear an oath to protect Asgard and the other realms. In name of the nine realm we accept your offer."

"Grand!" Fandral called out while clapping his hands together, completely destroying the serious tension. "The first girl I see, gets a kiss to remember!"

* * *

**I hope you liked it, even though it was a bit short...**

**School started again - :( - so uploads are going to take some time... sorry...**

**Please Review!**

**Rumple x**

**;)**


	29. Chapter 28

**All right... Everyone who has been planning to kill me for letting you wait so long, please reconsider... I hope you ENJOY it ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 28**_

"… at least fifteen deaths already, but the biggest threat is the amount of sick people. If we don't help Vanaheim now…"

"Yes… Yes…"

"Sire?"

"Yes… Sure…"

Thor frowned and looked up from the map he had been watching the last fifteen minutes. It showed Asgard and Vanaheim and was covered it red dots which indicated the area's with most trouble… The God of Thunder watched his brother sitting in his throne, his head leaning on his hand. Loki was obviously having trouble keeping his eyes open.

The room turned silent. Lord Argus, who had been reporting the incidents in Vanaheim, looked confused. He glared at Thor, silently asking what Loki meant with 'Yes yes…' and 'Yes… Sure'.

Thor nodded and held up his hand to make clear that everyone had to shut up for a minute.

"Loki!" he suddenly shouted. The young king dropped his head in surprise and only just manage to keep his balance. Blinking confusedly, he looked around the room.

"Yes! Yes! Sure!" he repeated. Thor raised his eyebrows. Once Loki realised the whole room was staring at him, he quickly smiled and set back in his throne. He cleared his throat.

"Lord Argus… You were saying…" Loki said, ignoring Thor's accusing stares.

The Royal advisor coughed and carried on. "Right… Err… If… If we do not send help to Vanaheim, the realm will starve. Besides that we're also facing rebellion of the Vanaheimers and even some Asgardians too. Therefore we also need our new forces as fast as…."

Lord Argus turned silent. He watched while his king's head slowly sunk back into his hand.

"My king…" Lord Atlas tried, watching from the side, but Loki didn't respond.

Thor sighed and walked over to the throne.

"Loki, we can always delay this meeting…"

The young king looked at his brother, hardly capable of staying awake. A huge yawn followed, but Loki still used all his power to sit up straight again.

"No.. no…" he said while making a waving gesture with his hand. "Carry on, Lord Gunnar…"

Lord Argus scowled. "Sire, I was speaking… Lord Argus…"

Loki frowned and looked at Lord Argus as if he only just realised he was there.

"Oh.. right.. of course…" he muttered, but he was interrupted by a new yawn.

"Loki!" Thor said angrily. "You're not capable to make decisions like this! I suggest…"

"I am perfectly capable of making divisions…"

"Decisions…" Thor corrected.

Loki nodded while his head fell back in his hand his eyes closed.

"Yes… Yes… diversions…."

"Really?" Thor asked with a grin, watching his brother fighting to stay conscious.

"Sure…" the young king said after a new yawn.

"So you also think that it would be a really good idea if you have the first dance together with Lord Atlas on father's birthday party?"

Loki slowly nodded. "Yes… Sure… Whatever you say…"

Thor smiled and witnessed Loki losing the fight against the sleep. He turned to the room.

"This meeting is cancelled. We'll come back to this… Well… when Loki wakes up! You're all dismissed."

Everybody bowed their head and left the room. Lord Argus mumbled to himself while walking out of the door. This way Asgard would never solve the problem…

Thor turned back to the throne and smiled. He couldn't really blame Loki. After all, the last three days had been pretty heavy… Especially after Lady Sif and the Warriors Three had been freed. The four warriors had turned up on Loki's doorstep every five minutes, demanding to know every detail, but Loki had been troubled with every single boring issue, twenty four hours a day. So in wasn't exactly surprising that he was tired.

Sudden hurried footsteps made Thor turn around again.

"My King, my Prince, my Lords, my apologies for being so late!" Arya said while rushing in the room, but her words got stuck in her throat when she noticed the throne room was empty. Her eye fell on Loki, sleeping in his throne and Thor standing in front of him. Arya opened her mouth to apologize again, but Thor was first.

"Today's meeting is cancelled, Arya…" he explained. Arya nodded, bowed her head and was ready to leave again, when Thor brought her to a halt.

"Arya, would you be so kind to stand guard at the kings' chambers?"

Arya frowned. "But…" she started confusedly. "The King isn't there right now…"

She threw a look on Loki, wondering if he was an illusion. Thor smiled.

"No, and he won't be either, but if you stand guard, everybody will think he is. And if anyone asks, you tell them Loki doesn't want to be disturbed."

Arya nodded slowly. "Can I ask where the king will be.. for real?"

Thor shook his head. "I'm not even going to tell you…"

The woman nodded again and bowed her head before leaving the throne room. Actually she was rather pleased to spend the rest of her day inside the palace. The last days she had trained the new recruits together with Lady Sif and The Warriors Three, but Lady Sif did most of the work. Arya didn't know why, but it seemed that the female warrior didn't really like her. Arya herself on the other hand only looked up at Lady Sif. Maybe she just had to give her some time alone…

-xxx-

Thor decided to take Loki to his and Jane's chambers. If he would stay in own room, Lord Argus would definitely be knocking on his door within five minutes. But then he first needed to get there… unnoticed.

"Loki!" Thor called out. The young king slowly came back to life and stared up at his brother. He blinked confusedly.

"I want you to create an illusion to get us to my chambers!" Thor continued.

Loki frowned. The words didn't get through as fast as they should.

"Your chambers?" he asked after a couple of seconds.

"Yes! You're going to sleep! Without any distractions!"

Loki groaned. "I don't feel like making any illusions…" he moaned while rubbing his eyes like an annoying child.

" Just try it…" Thor answered while taking his brother's arm to help him on his feet. Loki groaned once more, but Thor gave him a meaningful look.

The young king sighed and tried to concentrate. "Done…" he said after a couple of seconds.

Thor looked down and sighed. An illusion had appeared, but not really the one he was hoping for.

Loki, who was more hanging on Thor's arms then actually standing on his feet, grinned.

"Mmm brother, you still look ravishing!"

Thor sighed. "I have the feeling you're already dreaming!" he said in his own voice, which sounded really out of place on Sif's body.

Loki only grinned in return. He looked like a normal guard, but he smiled as Loki.

"Change me into someone else!" Thor's voice sounded from Sif's lips.

"Not a chance!" the young king answered. "Now, get going, unless you want to risk changing back into your own ugly appearance in the middle of the hall. That would be really embarrassing, wouldn't it…"

Thor scowled, but knew that he didn't really have another choice. He dragged Loki out of the throne room, even though the illusion just showed them walking next to each other.

The distance between the throne room and Thor's chambers wasn't that long, but now it seemed to take ages. Especially because Thor kept catching guards and other Asgardians turning their heads when they'd past, not able to keep their eyes of Thor's temporary female butt. If Loki hadn't been so tired, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from laughing at the sight of his brother's growing disgust.

Finally, they reached Thor's chambers. Thor could feel Loki's weight increase on his shoulder. He looked, but only saw the Asgardian guard, his eyes fixed on the door. The illusion started flickering…

The God of Thunder knocked on the door until Jane opened it, looking irritated by another impatient guard. But when she saw Lady Sif accompanied by an unknown guard, her expression changed.

"Sif…" she started confusedly.

"No!" Lady Sif interrupted with Thor's voice. Jane's eyebrows shot up her forehead. Her expression changed from not understanding to surprise to hardly capable of staying serious.

"Just let us in…" Thor quickly added. Jane stepped aside and closed the door after the two "brothers" had entered. The moment the door shut, the illusion flickered one last time and showed Thor and Loki again. The young king hardly seemed capable to keep his eyes open, but a small grin was still playing in his lips.

Thor sighed and dragged Loki to the nearest bed he could find, which turned out to be Frigga's, but since it was midday, she wouldn't need it. Jane followed her husband.

Loki felt Thor losing his grip on his arm. The next thing he knew was the soft fabric of Frigga's pink pillow in his face. The young king groaned. There was something he was forgetting. Something very important. Something he didn't want Thor to know. A silent voice in his head warned Loki for his nightmares, but the young king didn't listen. The bed was so soft and the blanket which was being put over his body was so warm. All he wanted to do now was sleep…

Thor took a step away from the bed and gestured to Jane that she had to leave the room. When they entered the living room, Thor closed the door connecting the two rooms.

"What was all that?" Jane asked in a loud whisper, even though it wasn't really necessary to whisper. The walls were pretty soundproof, you had to start screaming to get through.

Thor scowled and decided to flop down on the couch. He didn't really have anything else to do.

"That was nothing…" he muttered. Jane walked behind the couch and put her hands on her husband's shoulders. She lend down until her mouth was next to his cheek and smiled.

"You… were a women!" she said grinning from ear to ear, obviously enjoying Thor's shame.

The God of Thunder groaned. "How nice of you to remind me…"

Jane laughed and walked past the couch to sit down. Still laughing she dropped next to Thor and put her head on his big shoulder. Thor slightly smiled and threw his arm around his wife.

"At least it was Sif..." he whispered in her ear before softly kissing Jane on the lips. At that moment Frigga walked in the room. She had been playing on the small balcony that looked over the rest of Asgard. When she saw her parents, a disgusted frown appeared on her face.

"Mummy!" she called out. Jane looked up and watched her daughter. The little girl stuck out her tongue. "Don't be so gross!"

Thor and Jane smiled. Frigga wanted to walk to her room when her father stopped her.

"Frigga! Don't go into your room. Loki is sleeping there…"

Frigga's face lit up and she jumped around excitedly.

"Loki is here!" she yelled while clapping her hands, but her parents immediately put their fingers on their mouths as a silent order to keep quiet. Frigga bit her lip and also put her finger on her lips.

"Sorry…" she whispered after which she walked over to the couch on the tips of her toes. She jumped on her father's lap and hugged his enormous chest.

"Why is he sleeping?" she asked with a worried frown spread across her face. "Is Loki ill?"

Thor shook his head. "No, no, sweetheart. He's just tired… If we just let him sleep peacefully for a while he'll be fine…"

Frigga bit her lip when she remembered that night when she was spying on Loki through the crack of his door. Her uncle had had some obviously horrifying nightmares and it wasn't the only time… She doubted Loki would have a good night rest. Should she tell her parents? Frigga decided not to. After all, she had nightmares herself and she didn't talk about those either. She figured Loki didn't want anyone to know…

So the little girl nodded and rolled off her father's lap, splitting her parents. Actually she was pretty tired herself, but she didn't want to go to sleep! Not while Loki was having nightmares. He talked to her when she needed someone, that night on the roof! Now she was going to make sure he was fine!

About half an hour later, a hard knock on the door made the three people on the couch look up. They had been talking about Frigga's latest adventures in the endless gardens of the palace. She'd also been exploring the rest of Asgard together with Arya. The Asgardian, Captain in the making turned out to be pretty cool and Frigga had started to see her as her big sister.

Thor looked at the door and sighed. He could already imagine Lord Argus or Lord Atlas standing at the door, complaining about Loki's absence… Arya had probably not managed to keep the two men of Loki's track. The God of Thunder first tried to ignore the visitors, but after a second, even harder knock he finally got to his feet.

On second thoughts, Lord Argus, nor Lord Atlas would knock that hard and rudely. Thor opened the door and stood eye to eye with Lady Sif. Behind her he could see Fandral, winking at a girl who just passed by.

"I know he's here!" Sif said before Thor could greet them. She pushed her friend aside and let herself in. Fandral slowly flowed. Thor frowned and closed the door.

"What do you mean?" he asked even though he knew who Lady Sif was talking about. Sif rolled her eyes and scanned the room.

"Loki!" she eventually said while walking over to the open door of Thor and Jane's bedroom. She checked the room and closed the door when she realised no one was hiding there.

"He is not in his room, I don't need some _wanne be_ warrior to tell me lies! If he is not there, then there is only one place left where he could be after falling asleep in the throne room!"

Thor cleared his throat. "That 'wanne be warrior' is your future Captain, Sif…"

"Yes!" Frigga quickly added. "And she is really _cool_!"

Sif watched the little girl in confusion. What was so _cold_ about Arya?

Thor sighed and gestured to Frigga that she had to be quiet.  
"What makes you think Loki fell asleep during the meeting?"

Sif fixed her eyes back on Thor and watched him in disbelief.  
"My _future Captain _is not the best liar! She almost pooped her pants when she saw us coming!"

Thor frowned. What was going on with Sif? All right… she wasn't the most kind and sweet girl in the world and she could be really jealous, but this was just abnormal. Thor shared a look with Fandral, but his old friend just raised his shoulders. He didn't know either.

"Anyway, where is he! We need to talk to him right now!"

"Loki is sleeping…" Thor finally admitted. "He's exhausted! Just give him a break!"

"A king is supposed to be available at all times!" Sif immediately answered. "We need to talk to him now!"

"Sif, just try to understand…" Thor tried. He was doing his best not to start shouting at her, but Sif just ignored him.

"We need weapons! Swords, daggers, speers! The new recruits can't be taught with those useless, broken, rusty things we have left! Loki wants an army? Well then he'll need weapons too!"

"Weapons and army matters are Lord Atlas' responsibility and you damn well now that!" Thor said harshly. Fandral's eyes jumped between his two friends. He knew it wouldn't take long before they started fighting.

Sif just ignored Thor's word's and walked over to Frigga's room.

"What' behind that door?" she asked while reaching for the door handle. Frigga immediately jumped from the couch.

"That's my room!" she shouted enthusiastically, completely forgetting that Loki was in there. All she could think of was the fact that Lady Sif, her idol, was interested in her room! She ran over to Lady Sif and wanted to open the door, but Thor was quick to interrupt.

"No!" he called out furiously, while pulling Frigga back. The little girl looked confused and Sif smiled. Now she knew that Loki was in that room.

"She just wanted to show her room to me…" she said innocently. Frigga looked up at her father. Thor on the other hand looked at Sif in disbelief.

"You are not going to take advantage of my daughter! How dare you!"

Sif scowled and stepped away from the door. The fire in her eyes increased and Frigga swallowed. Was her father telling the truth? Was Sif taking advantage of her?

"How can you defend him?" Sif asked darkly. "He killed so many innocent people, he betrayed us and the rest of Asgard more than once! He killed your father and took the throne for himself! How can you even trust him!"

Thor pushed Frigga towards her mother. Jane understood the hint and tried to force her daughter to leave the room, but the little girl was far too interested in the conversation.

Fandral who realised things were getting out of hand tried to calm the tense situation.

"Come on guys…." he tried while walking over to his two friends. "I think we're all a bit tired…"

Fandral smiled and turned to Sif. "We'll come back when Loki wakes up… I fact… maybe we all could go to sleep! I like sleeping! Especially after a good party, and with a beautiful girl next to me, but …"

"Shut up, Fandral!" Sif called out looking very irritated. "Nobody asked for your opinion!"

Now it was Fandral's turn to get angry.

"What is wrong with you!" he shouted. Sif looked at him in disbelief.

"Wrong with me? What is wrong with you two! That," she shouted while pointing at the door behind her, "is a murderer and a liar!"

"You are just blinded by a childish hatred!" Fandral responded. "And I'm not the only one! Thor's thinking it too! Loki used to be your friend! As if you never did anything wrong!"

Sif pulled up her eyebrows and turned to Thor. "Oh really? You're also choosing his side? I'm not the one who's blinded! You two just have to accept the truth! He's tricking you! Again!"

"Loki has been a good king…" Thor started, but Sif didn't listen.

"So you trust him? After everything he has done, you still trust him!"

Thor groaned and closed his eyes. "I don't trust him and I don't forgive him! But he is the king and he is a good one! It's time _you _ accept that!"

Sif's nostrils widened as she took a deep breath to shout her response, but a silent, innocent and slightly scared voice interrupted.

"Why not daddy?"

All eyes fixed on little Frigga who was standing at the door of her parents room. She had tears in her eyes and was shivering in fear and anger. Thor looked confused.

"Why don't you want to trust or forgive him?" Frigga asked again.

Thor was taken aback by the question. He sighed. How was he supposed to explain something like that to a five year old?

"Frigga… sweetie, it's difficult to understand…"

Frigga frowned angrily while even more tears flowed down her cheeks. Why did everybody think she was too stupid to understand things! It was them who didn't understand while it was all so simple! Why did grownups always make things so difficult!

"But daddy! Loki is your brother! Of all people you should be the one to forgive him! Because that's what family does! It doesn't matter what they've done wrong! If I had a little brother or sister I wouldn't just curse and hate them, or turn them into a murderer! You are a really, really bad big brother!"

Frigga was so angry she didn't care how rude she was.

Thor closed his eyes and sighed. His daughter's words hurt him more that anyone else's. Somewhere he wanted to shout back at Frigga, to make it clear that this was his business, but he knew that her young mind just didn't know any better.

"Sweetheart, you don't understand… Loki has done some really bad stuff and sometimes you just can't forgive someone…"

"BUT HE'S YOUR BROTHER!" Frigga screamed out. A short, but loud crackle filled the air as a thin silver force field surrounded Frigga's body and blasted through the room, making everyone stumble backwards. A vase with beautiful red flowers which was standing on the table, was blown into smithereens. Everybody looked at the little girl, awe-struck, but Frigga was so furious that she didn't even notice.

"All right, Frigga…" Thor started, trying to keep his voice steady. Loki was going to pay for this! He'd told him that he didn't want him to teach his daughter magic!  
"Just calm down… Maybe you should stay with Jane until…"

"She does have a point…" another voice suddenly interrupted. Thor looked up and watched his wife with a questioning look in his eyes. Jane was obviously as surprised as he was by Frigga's little outburst, but she'd managed to keep her head.

"Frigga does have a point…" she repeated. "Loki _is_ your brother… Maybe if you forgive him, he could be trusted too…"

Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing! A new wave of anger consumed his body. Why was everyone making such a big deal out of _his _family troubles!

"I appreciate your Midgardian principals, but Loki and I go way back! Your idea of forgiveness, trust, and brotherhood is based on a human live! Loki and I have lived together for at least a thousand years!"

"Exactly! That is why you should understand how important it is to keep your family close!" Jane called out in a desperate voice.

"This is not the first time Loki crossed the line!" Thor shouted.

"I understand that and that is exactly the reason why I chose to give him a chance! All I know about him is _The Battle of New York _ and _Let's fake my own death to take the throne_! You told me so many stories about the battles you and Loki fought! The countless times he saved you're life! He saved your daughter's life too! Isn't that enough to forgive him and forget the past!"

Thor turned around and rubbed his eyes. He really needed to get out, otherwise people were going to get hurt! He was way too angry to listen!

"Jane! You can't understand!"

"Exactly!" the furious mother shouted back. "Because I never will! Because I'm just a mortal! How am I supposed to live alongside you when I'm just a blink of an eye for you! I'll grow old, while you stay young forever. You will even witness the death of your child! And still you won't have aged a day!"

Tears had formed in Jane's eyes. Finally she had brought her biggest fear to the light. She knew this had nothing to do with the subject and she understood it was rather selfish of her to draw the attention towards her, but it was just a matter that had been killing the poor mother ever since she and Thor got married. And especially when Frigga was born! She didn't even know if Frigga would age as a human! For now it seemed like she was, but maybe that wouldn't last! Maybe she would never see her daughter become an adult. Maybe she would never have grandchildren!

Thor and everyone else in the room turned silent. Thor's anger faded like frost under the morning sun. He blinked confusedly and swallowed. When Jane noticed that everyone, including her daughter, was staring at her, she quickly turned around and walked into her bedroom. Before anyone could stop her she'd slammed the door shut.

* * *

**I hope it was worth waiting for, I'm really trying, but it seems as if my teachers have gone mad! **

**Sorry if you find a lot of spelling mistakes, I went over it rather quickly...**

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	30. Chapter 29

**Here you go! Hope you ENJOY it! ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 29**_

Loki opened his eyes. Something had woken him up. The question was what…

Still a little drowsy, Loki looked around the room he was in. Who's room was this? His eyes slowly scanned the walls, the ground, the window and the bed. Since when did he sleep in a small bed and – more importantly – since when was it covered in pink sheets! Loki smacked his mouth. He was thirsty and for some reason rather cold. The young king shivered. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up as if he'd just been struck by a cold, icy wind. Did he have a nightmare? No, he would remember!

Slowly the events of the day started to find their place in his mind. Thor… Thor had dragged him to … Frigga's room…. He was in his niece's room! At least that explained the pink blankets… And the princess dolls he just noticed next to the (also pink) pillow. But what had woken him up! There was nothing in the room!

Muted voices sounded from the other side of the door. The walls were pretty thick, so that meant that whoever was in the other room, they were shouting. Loki put aside the blanket and cautiously made his way to the door. Carefully he opened it on a slight crack, just enough to see what and who were in the other room and to be able to follow the conversation properly. Immediately the muted voices turned into shouts and screams. Loki groaned and shut his eyes. He was still too tired! He almost felt as if he had a hangover!

The young king adjusted to the light and sound, streaming into his room. He recognised Frigga's angry voice, overflown with an uncontrollable pain and sadness. With every word she said, Loki felt shivers run down his spine. He knew this kind of feeling, but it had been quite some time since he'd last felt it. At least in this way…

"…little brother or sister I wouldn't just curse and hate him, or turn him into a murderer! You are a really, really bad big brother!" Loki heard, but he didn't really pay attention to Frigga's words. Something was going on, but he couldn't believe it… Cautiously he pushed the door further open. Now he could see Frigga standing at the door of her parent's room. Lady Sif, Fandral, Thor and Jane were also in the room, but they didn't matter. Loki couldn't believe his eyes.

Around Frigga he could see an almost invisible pattern of flowing energy. It moved through the air like the soft waves of a steady pond, but they increased with Frigga's every angry breath. Frigga was preforming magic!

Immediately, the young king was right awake. Loki searched his memory for a moment were he'd already taught Frigga some magic, but he was sure he hadn't. Besides, what Frigga was doing was something that took a lot of practise. Years and years of practise! Without any instruction she was already controlling the natural energy in the air and transforming it to magic. Loki knew he was the only who could see it surging around her, but if Frigga didn't calm down, it wouldn't take long before it would take form. Loki doubted Frigga would be able to contain it for very much longer…

A thousand question raced through the young king's mind. How was this possible? He never heard of anything like this! Magic had to be taught! But Frigga seemed to be a… natural.

Loki watched as his brother was trying to calm Frigga down and keep her out of the conversation, but there was no way of stopping it now. The young king saw and heard the silver energy crackle through the air. The next thing he knew was a wave of harmless, but magical energy hitting his body. Loki stumbled backwards. Just before the silver energy disappeared into the air, he stuck out his hand and forced a small amount of the silver light to form a ball in his hand. With a deep frown above his eyes, Loki brought the ball closer to his face. This was actual magic, as real as his own, but sliver.

"Interesting…" he muttered while waving his hand through the air to make the energy dissolve too. The young king walked back to the door and witnessed Jane and Thor's fight. The words found their way through, but they didn't matter at the moment. He would think about it later. For now, Loki focused on his little niece standing at the door. Her parents were fighting over her head, but she didn't seem to care. Frigga blinked her eyes confusedly when she noticed how exhausted she was. She knew something weird had happened, but what she thought was so impossible that she just couldn't believe it. She looked at her hands in a scared, but also very inquisitive way.

Frigga was awoken from her trance of obsession by a small, salty drop of water on her face. She looked up and found her mother crying above her. Why was she crying? Mothers were not supposed to cry! The whole room seemed to think the same, because everyone was staring at Jane. Before Frigga could do something, her mother suddenly turned around and disappeared in her room.

Loki saw how the girl looked around the room, scared, helpless, alone. Was someone going to help her? Give her a hug and tell her it was going to be fine? Apparently not! Thor was staring at the door as if he'd seen a ghost.  
Jane had completely overthrown her husband. To be honest, the thought of losing his wife and child had also crossed his mind and brought him a lot of pain. But Thor had accepted that fact when Jane had told him she was pregnant. He'd decided he'd rather spend one lifetime with Jane and Frigga then to wait, alone, until she died. It would break his heart, but Thor knew he had to live and enjoy every day he had with them. It never really occurred to him that Jane was as desperate as he was. Now he came to think of it, that was a rather selfish thought!

Sif and Fandral shared a look. They'd completely forgotten why they were there. They had the feeling they weren't supposed to witness this… Both friends were sending each other angry glares to make the other say something first. Of course Sif was the one to win. Fandral sighed and turned to Thor. An uneasy smile appeared on his handsome face while he walked towards the God of Thunder.

"Oh well… " he said while stretching his arm as far as he could so he could put it around Thor's shoulders. "Women, my friend… They can be so difficult!"

In other circumstances Sif would have thrown something at Fanrdal's head, but now she just waited for Thor's reaction.

The God of Thunder blinked and seemed to wake up from a trance. He looked at Fandral, who threw a new, even bigger smile his way, but quickly realised that Thor didn't appreciate his 'help'.

"Just leave!" Thor said in a low voice. Fandral's smile disappeared and he quickly lowered his arm and took a step back. He glanced at Sif for help. The female warrior bit her lip and cautiously took a step closer to Thor, waiting for him to turn around and face her, but he didn't.

"Thor…" she started in a silent voice. For the first time since she'd been freed, she somewhat sounded like her old self. "I… I don't know what to say…"

Thor stepped towards the door leading to the balcony. "Then don't say anything! You've said enough already!"

A short silence filled the air.

"I'm sorry…" Lady Sif eventually said, but Thor didn't seem to appreciate it. He turned around. His eyes were dark and full of pure sadness.

"No, you're not! You're jealous and full of hatred! Just go and leave us alone! Both of you!"

Fandral bowed his head and made his way to the door. Thor turned around again and walked on the balcony, completely ignoring his friends. Sif seemed to hesitate, but followed Fandral out of the room. She closed the door behind her.

Frigga looked around the room. Her heart was beating in her throat, tears were forcing their way out of her eyes and still no one seemed to notice her! The little girl desperately tried to control the unexplainable fear that was building up inside her, until her eye fell on the door of her room which was no longer closed. Without thinking she sprinted towards it and pushed it further open. On her bed, she saw Loki sitting with his hands put together under his chin. He seemed to be lost in thoughts, but when he saw the scared, watery blue eyes of his niece peeping through the door, he snapped out of it. Frigga stood at the door, which was slowly closing behind her again because of the wind coming from the open balcony door. She was shivering and was no longer able to keep her tears from flowing. With a heartbreaking cry, she ran towards Loki and jumped on his lap, throwing her arms around him in search for a comforting hand. She started crying unstoppably against his chest, draining his clothes while she did. Loki was surprised by her sudden action of affection, but softly put his arms around the little girl and waited until she was ready to speak.

It took Frigga exactly ten minutes before she was able to stop herself from hyperventilating and crying.

Loki waited, but his niece didn't seem to be very eager to speak. She just silently sobbed against his shirt and made herself comfortable on his lap. Her eyes grew more heavy every minute. After a while Loki took a light blue blanket which showed a blond, winged fairy with a short green dress and fitting green shoes with a white ball on the tips. The young king put the blanket around his niece and watched her crawl even closer to him. Frigga closed her eyes and her breathing slowed down in between the silent sobs. Loki looked down at the girl and smiled. It occurred to him that this was something he would never have done only a couple of weeks ago. But right now, he didn't really care. Softly and carefully he touched Frigga's slightly messed up golden hair. His niece's breathing slowed down until it reached its minimum. Her sobbing came to an end and she peacefully slept in Loki's arms.

The young king waited until he was a hundred percent sure Frigga was fast asleep before lying down again. He was still so freakishly tired himself. Even Frigga's magical outburst seemed less important now. He just wanted to sleep. Loki closed his eyes and felt how Frigga crawled closer to his chest while muttering something in her sleep. Her fingers curled up in the fabric of his shirt while a slight shiver ran down her thin body. The young king recognised it as sign of a nightmare and opened his eyes again. He cautiously turned on his side and put his left arm over Frigga's body. Bit by bit she stopped shivering. He grip on his clothes softened and her breathing slowed down again. A blissful smile formed on her lips while she drifted away in a deep sleep.

Loki yawned and smiled while his eyes slowly closed. Before he could even worry about what Thor would think if he would enter, Loki fell asleep.

-xxx-

When Thor woke up on the couch the next morning, the sun was already high up in the sky. He'd overslept. While moaning and groaning from spending the night on the couch with nothing more than a scruffy, way too short blanket, he didn't really sleep that good. He'd figured that Jane didn't want to talk to him, let alone see him, so he'd decided to leave her alone for the night.

The God of Thunder stretched his arms above his head and yawned. He looked at the door of his bed room. It was open. One quick, yet cautious look inside the room told him that Jane had already left.

The next room he checked was Frigga's. The night before, Thor had decided to check on his daughter before going to sleep. After all he'd completely ignored her after Jane had slammed the door in his face, about which he felt really guilty, especially after what had happened to and with her that same day. She must have been terrified or maybe not, if Loki had told her how to use magic in that way.

But when Thor had opened the door, leading to his daughters room, he'd realised that his brother was still there too. When he'd spotted Frigga, sleeping in Loki's arms, more peacefully than ever, he'd felt a weird combination of emotions rushing through his body. In a way he was very cross with Loki for teaching his daughter magic, but when he came to think of it, Thor couldn't think of one moment that he not had been alongside Loki. And if he wasn't with his brother, he had been with Frigga or he'd known where she was. There was no way Loki could have been able to teach her anything. So all Thor could do was smile and close the door again. Those were problem for later.

Thor opened the door of Frigga's room once more, but both his daughter and his brother were gone. Thor frowned and scratched his messy blond hair. Where was everybody?

Fifteen minutes later, Thor left his chambers. Fully dressed and right awake. He walked down the hall, smiling vaguely at the people bowing while passing by. First he checked the throne room, but there was no one there. Wondering where he should look next, Thor let his feet lead him towards the gardens. The bright sun blinded him for a moment, but when he'd adjusted to the light he slowly he strolled down the path which was waving through the gardens like a swift brushstroke on a painting. He suddenly spotted Jane and Frigga at a shining pond a little but further. They were throwing small pieces of bread into the water, feeding the tiny, fluffy duck-alike birds. They were standing with their backs towards him, but Thor could still hear Frigga's excited laughter. A small smile appeared in the God of Thunder's face. At least she was fine…

Thor was distracted when his eye suddenly fell on a third person standing in the shadow of an enormous tree. Because of the constant moving of the leaves and their shadows in the breeze, it was almost impossible to spot him, but Thor was trained to notice spies.

Thor slowly made his way towards the tree until he recognized his brother. Loki was leaning against the trunk of the tree, his eyes fixed on Jane and Frigga.

"Had a good night sleep?" Thor asked. Loki looked up in surprise. He had been lost in thought and hadn't heard Thor getting near. A short smile appeared on his face.

"Sure…"

Thor watched his brother for a couple of seconds, waiting for him to start talking about Frigga, but Loki easily ignored his stares and focused back on the two standing at the pond.

Thor crossed his arms and sighed while also fixing his gaze on his wife and daughter. He waited a couple more seconds before continuing.

"You heard us, didn't you?"

Loki looked up. A questioning frown appeared on his face. Thor laughed.

"Don't pretend! I saw you last night… You and Frigga… I take it that you woke up and followed our conversation."

Loki looked away and scowled. Thor had seen him… great…

The young king didn't immediately respond.  
"I wouldn't call it a conversation, but I suppose that depends on your point of view of course…" he eventually said with a grin. Thor rolled his eyes, trying to hide his guilt.

"And to be completely honest," Loki continued a lot more serious, "It wasn't your pathetic _relationship problem_ that woke me up…"

Thor swallowed. He knew what Loki was talking about.

In a flash he saw the silver, magical light burst through the room again. In fact, Thor had been as scared as Frigga was. Magic that powerful was dangerous. Frigga's words echoed through his mind. She'd pleaded for him to forgive Loki… Well, he still didn't feel like doing that, but he could start with not blaming him… He could only ask...

"Did you teach her that?" the God of Thunder finally asked. "Because I remember asking you not to teach her any magic…"

"No…" the young king answered. Thor was surprised to hear the concern behind his brother's words. "No, I didn't…"

"Then how do you explain what happened?" Thor asked.

Loki looked at his brother, thinking over what he was going to say.

"I don't know…" he eventually declared. "I honestly have no idea…"

Thor frowned. Loki looked away again and fixed his attention on the little girl once more.

"What Frigga did was almost… natural… elementary… I've never seen or heard about anything like this before…" the young king continued.

Both brothers watched Frigga in silence.

"Did she ask you about it?" Thor asked after a couple of minutes.

Loki nodded.

"What did you tell her?"

The young king smiled, but his smile almost seemed sad. "I told her I did it…"

Thor nodded. He could live with that…  
"And do you think she believed you?"

Loki laughed and turned back to his brother with his eyebrows halfway his forehead.

"Of course not…"

-xxx-

Jane watched her daughter laugh and throw bread crumbs into the water. She seemed so happy and fine… But Jane knew it was only an act. Even though Frigga was trying to hide her fear/excitement, the worried mother knew her daughter was in fact constantly thinking about what had happened the night before. Actually, Jane hated mornings like these. Mornings after a fight. Days where everyone pretended nothing had happened. Very soon, she knew she would have to talk to Frigga and Thor, but for the first time in her life, Jane was afraid of what would happen then. More than ever she wanted to return to Earth and leave Asgard, its problem and its magic behind, but she knew she couldn't. Not because Thor wouldn't let her or because of the fear to run into SHIELD once they were back, but the fact that Frigga was happy here. Even though Jane didn't want to admit it, Frigga belonged more on Asgard than she did anywhere else. And if all the dangers and the magic were the price to live out the rest of her life here, Jane was sure Frigga would do it without question.

-xxx-

Thor and Loki had left their spot at the tree and were walking side by side down the path, back to the palace. Both men hadn't said a word, even though the questions were burning on their tongues. Loki was the first one to give in.

"So… Jane wants to be immortal then…"

Thor looked up, surprised that Loki had actually followed the discussion they'd had. Automatically, a feeling of panic filled his mind.

"Those are our problems! Jane's and mine! It's none of your business!" he shouted before he could stop himself. Loki pulled up his eyebrows and took a step to the side as if he was offended by Thor's quick and rude response.

The God of Thunder sighed and stopped in his tracks. Loki did the same. The two brother's looked at each other for a moment, both knowing what was really going through Thor's mind.

"Is it possible?" he finally asked.

Loki softly smiled and started walking down the path again. Thor followed and waited patiently for Loki to answer.

"I don't know…" the young king eventually said without looking at his brother. The hope, shimmering in Thor's eyes vanished, but it seemed Loki wasn't finished yet.

"But I do know that there's a lot I still don't know…"

Thor looked up and his pace increased until he was walking in front of his brother. He turned around and stopped Loki in the middle of the path. A deep frown appeared on his forehead.

"You mean… it _could _be possible…"

Loki sighed. He was pulled in so many direction at the same time that he didn't know where to turn. A part of him was curious about the idea of _designed_ immortality, but another part told him it was just not possible.

"I'm only telling you what I know!" he answered. "Maybe there is a reason that people are not immortal like us! Maybe they just wouldn't be able to take it! And there is a big possibility that – even if this would be possible – there will be a lot of dark energy involved. Even I know little about that. You remember how mother always warned us about it! Odin was the only one who could wield it!"

Thor slowly nodded. He could see his brother wasn't speaking from his heart, but from what his mind told him to say. He recognised that inquisitive spark in Loki's light grey eyes. He was quite sure Loki would look it up sooner or later… maybe it would have been better to keep this quiet… What if Loki would temper with dark magic…

A fake, but comforting smile appeared on Thor's face. He hit his brother shoulder and laughed.

"Of course…" he said while shaking his head and taking a step back. "You're right… I don't think Jane would want to be immortal anyway. She's to much human for that… It was stupid of me to ask… Forget about it…"

Thor turned around and started walking. Loki was completely overthrown by his sudden change of mind, but sighed. Did Thor really think him that stupid! He wasn't a child anymore…

Loki quickly followed. There was still something else he had to say, but Thor seemed to think it was better to change the subject to something he wanted to talk about.

"So… did you already finish the meeting from yesterday?" he asked when his brother had caught up with him. Loki obviously seemed irritated by the question, since it appeared to be totally unimportant next to what he had to say, but he decided to answer anyway.

"Yes… Well, kind off… I met with the Lords this morning. I think I might have a plan…"

Thor nodded. "And what might that be?" he asked.

"I'm still thinking things over… the Lords didn't fully agree…"

Thor watched Loki with a frown. This couldn't be good….

The young king smiled and continued. "Lord Argus was right. If we don't act know, we won't have a realm to save anymore. Vanaheim is starving, Asgard will follow. I propose to leave now!"

Thor raised his eyebrows. He didn't really want to question Loki's decisions, but this was just.. well…stupid!

"Not to be blunt, but have you seen the new recruits. They – and don't tell Sif I said this – they fight like girls! Maybe one or two show any kind of talent, let alone respect. If we put them against the rebels, we send them to their deaths!"

Loki smirked. "Who said something about the recruits?" he asked nonchalantly. Thor couldn't follow anymore, until it struck him. The God if Thunder hesitated to give in to his own thinking. It just seemed impossible! He shared a look with his brother, but Loki only smiled back, obviously full of enthusiasm.

"You're not planning to send us in, are you? We don't even know how big this army is! Heimdall told us he can't see them!"

Loki sighed. "Yes yes… I've heard all that!"

Thor couldn't believe his brother's ignorance.

"Loki, our whole army has disappeared there! All of our warriors! Doesn't that mean anything to you!"

Loki stopped and turned to Thor, a serious expression covering his face. "I realise that! You are right! It could be an enormous army! But it also could be nothing. Maybe our warriors walked into a trap! Maybe they're still there! Or maybe there was a big army, but has it been _thinned_ by our forces! Heimdall can't see them, so how big could they be or have been! I believe there is a bigger chance our army was imprisoned!"

"You don't know that, Loki!" Thor hissed back. "You managed to keep yourself hidden for Heimdall once. Who says they don't have sorcerers too!"

Loki rolled his eyes. "To hide a whole army? Really? To do that you would need or an impossibly strong sorcerer or a hundred. I think I would sense that amount of magic from every corner of the universe and if I didn't, Heimdall certainly would!"

"That still doesn't mean you can send five warriors to their doom! I'm not saying that we're not up for it, but this is just madness! We don't know what we're up against!"

"Six…" Loki interrupted. Thor frowned.

"Six…" the young king repeated with a meaningful look. "Arya is coming too. You, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three and Arya. Somebody has to fill my place…"

Thor watched his brother in disbelief. "Arya?" he asked. "Sif's going to love that…"

Loki smiled. "I realised…" he said with a grin. "That's why you get to tell Sif the good news…."

Loki tapped his brother on the shoulder and grinned. Thor sighed and closed his eyes for a second.

"No…" he said after a while. "No! I'm not doing this, neither of us is! It's simply too dangerous!"

Loki smirked. "Oh, come on, brother! Where is that sense of adventure! You never gave a second thought about _excursions _like this…The Thor I knew was an arrogant fool who would have jumped into a beasts mouth just to see what his last meal looked like!"

Thor laughed shortly, but there was nothing funny about his smile. "The Thor you kne has changed!" he hissed back, but Loki didn't seem taken aback.

A small grin covered his lips. "It appears so…" he said. "Yet, _unfortunately, _I am the king now and you have to listen to me! You leave tomorrow morning, at first light!"

Thor tried to say something back, but he knew Loki had made up his mind. Besides, he was right. Loki was king and he had to obey him. Of course that didn't mean that he couldn't lead his friends into battle his own way…

Thor bowed his head. Loki nodded and turned to leave, until he remembered something else.

"Thor, one more thing, I would like you and Jane to see me tonight after Frigga has gone to sleep! And that was an order too!"

Thor sighed and smirked. "Yes… _my king_…" he said sarcastically. Loki smiled shortly and raised his eyebrows as in saying: "Sucks… doesn't it?"

He turned around and left Thor on his own on the path. The God of Thunder had to try hard not to run after Loki and give him a good beating.

Thor turned around too, to walk back to the palace. He wasn't looking forward to tell Sif about Loki's latest plans…

Thor sighed. He'd most forgotten how annoying his little brother could be…

* * *

**I hope you liked it :)**

**Please review! **

**Rumple x**


	31. Chapter 30

**I hope it was worth waiting! ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 30**_

Loki paced around the crackling fire in the common room. Outside the sun had set and night had fallen over Asgard. Everything seemed more peaceful that ever, but Loki knew that was far from the truth. Absolutely no one was sleeping peacefully, without worries or a hungry stomach.

A loud growl reminded Loki that he was famished too, but he had so much on his mind that he just couldn't spend time on eating, let alone thinking about eating.

Suddenly two people walked through the door. Loki turned on his heels and faced Thor and Jane who'd just entered. He noticed they were walking a little bit further from each other than usual. Probably because of their previous 'fight'.

"Finally!" he said with a sigh.

"I though you wanted to meet in the throne room…" Thor answered. Loki smiled shortly and walked over to one of the couches around the fire. He said down and gestured for both parents to do the same.

"I don't spend my days on that throne, Thor… that would be an awful waist of life…"

Thor grinned, while sitting down too, when he remembered Loki saying that in the past many, many times. It had become his usual answer to everything boring that occured. _That would be an awful waist of life!_

"Why did you want to speak with us?" Thor asked when Jane had taken a seat in a chair next to him instead of choosing the free spot on the same couch as her husband. Loki was sitting in a chair on the other side of the fire.

"As if you didn't already guess that…" the young king answered with a smile.

Jane and Thor looked at each other for a moment.

"We don't want Frigga to practise… magic…" Jane eventually said.

Loki nodded understandingly, but it was obvious he disagreed anyway.

"That's a shame…" he responded. "Because I would love to help her develop her skills…"

Thor tried to read Loki's words, to find a hidden meaning, but it seemed his brother meant every word he said.

"Look…" the young king continued when both parents turned silent. "What Frigga did is something I don't understand. But what I do know is that that was pure, real and potentially powerful magic! Whether you like it or not, Frigga is already practising magic! It's literally in her blood! What she did yesterday was…"

Loki's mouth was opening and closing in an attempt to find the right word to describe Frigga's magic.

"It was just… fantastic, wonderful… magical!"

Again Thor tried to find a trace of irony in Loki's voice, but his brother's shimmering eyes and wide smile gave away his upmost interest and excitement about the situation.

Jane shook her head. Magic was something she didn't understand. And even though she'd always thought about it as science she still had to discover, she didn't like the fact that her daughter was already practising it.

"How do we know you won't teach her… bad… stuff…" she said hesitatingly.

Thor and Loki looked at her with a questioning look on their faces.

"You know…." Jane tried to explain while making awkward gestures to her husband. Thor should understand what she was trying to say, right?

"Things… things like what you do… used to do…"

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Things I _used _to do…" he slowly repeated.

Jane sighed, not really knowing if Loki was getting angry or not.

"Oh, come on!" she cried out. "It's not like you were mister perfect during your _visit _on Earth! You might have destroyed a city!"

Jane listened to her own voice fading through the halls of the palace. She'd gone too far and she knew it, but actually she didn't care. This was about HER daughter! The worried mother swallowed and watched Loki, expecting an angry tirade about how she was supposed to respect him, but the young king stayed quiet.

Loki was obviously taken aback by Jane's sudden outburst and in any other circumstances he would have done exactly what Jane was expecting, but he didn't. He finally understood what she was trying to insinuate.

A short laugh filled the room. Jane jumped in her seat. Loki was laughing?! She looked at her husband, but even Thor couldn't hide his smile.

"What?" Jane asked irritated. Thor shook his head and smiled. For a second he glared at Loki, sending him a silent message.

The young king nodded and cleared his throat.

"Let me get this straight…." Loki started with a grin still playing on his lips. "You think I use magic to hurt people, to do – as you put it so nicely – bad stuff?"

Jane frowned. "Well… yes…." she said silently, but she already started to doubt her fears.

Loki smiled once more. "Of all people, I would expect a scientist to be more critical…"

Jane frowned. She didn't like it when people criticized her!

"Well excuse me!" she exclaimed.

Loki obviously enjoyed Jane's ignorance. He set back and playfully lifted his hands as if he wanted to say: don't blame me….

Thor sighed and rolled his eyes. Oh, how Loki loved to be the smart guy!

"What Loki is trying to say…" The God of Thunder started sarcastically while throwing an angry glare at his brother, "is that you can't use magic to do evil. You can't hurt anyone with it."

Jane looked at her husband. A slight blush appeared on her cheek. "Oh…" she stuttered feeling pretty embarrassed.

"Well actually," Loki interrupted, drawing the attention back to him, " that's not entirely true. You can use magic for bad purposes, but that's not exactly… healthy."

"Healthy?" Jane repeated thinking Loki was trying to be funny.

"Yes…" Thor answered. "Literally not healthy…"

Jane watched her husband, wondering if he was being serious. Could magic be … not healthy?

"When you use magic to hurt, or even kill people, it turns against you." Thor continued. "It consumes you and you go…. bananas!"

"Well… that a rather light way to put it…." Loki interrupted. Jane turned back to him. She didn't really see how Loki was helping his case by telling her this.

"How can magic turn you crazy?" the worried mother asked, not able to hide the fear in her voice. "You mean like… not being able to control it anymore?"

"I mean like… magic takes over!" Loki answered. A dark shimmering filled his eyes.

Jane shook her head. She wasn't following.

Loki licked his lips and thought about how his mother once explained the dangers of magic to him.  
"You need to stop think about magic as something exceptional. It's not just broomsticks and funny hats, unnecessary long beards and funky Latin. Magic is a force... it's all around us! It's in the air like oxygen and you can feel it as much as the sun on your skin. It's always been there! Everywhere! Practising magic is only learning how to use it, how to extract it. It's the same as learning how to breath."

"But if it's just like 'oxygen', if it's everywhere, then how can it harm us?" Jane asked. Beneath her fear she could feel the scientist awake. An almost uncontrollable curiosity took hold of her. Finally Loki was telling her how magic worked!

"Magic is an ancient force. It's been around since the beginning of space and time and will probably remain until the end of the universe. Unlike oxygen or sunlight, it isn't produced. It's not because you use magic, it disappears. In other words… this", Loki opened the palm of his hand. A blazing ball of pure, green light appeared and shone even brighter than the fire. "This is older than you can imagine! It has seen the birth of the universe itself!"

Jane looked at the ball of light as if she'd just invented the cure for cancer. She was speechless!

Just as quick as it had appeared, the ball was gone again. Jane blinked in surprise and watched Loki again, eager to hear more. The young king smiled. He'd just realised he'd found someone who shared the same interest in magic as he did. Thor had never understood the importance of magic and the fact that it was ancient. "So what" he always used to say after another attempt of Loki to explain the infinity of magic "so it's older than grandpa… great! Now help me with winning from Sif!"

Both Loki and Jane were so caught up in there conversation, neither was aware of Thor's nervous scowl.

The young king continued. "Magic is a force of nature. Therefore, if you use it, you have to respect nature. You can't decide about someone's fate. After all, in way you're just 'borrowing' the magic's power."

"So you're saying that magic has some kind of… conscience?" Jane asked. Loki seemed to hesitate.

"You could say that… but the truth is: we don't fully understand how magic works. It's just there and if it weren't, we probably wouldn't be here either… "

"But if you use magic for bad purposes it turns against you?"

"In fact it's nature who turns against you…" Loki explained. "When you… let's say.. kill someone with magic… you brake the laws of nature. First of all, you get addicted to power, you won't be satisfied until you use it to destroy, hurt and kill. Secondly, it takes over your mind and literary consumes you. What's left is an unscrupulous shell."

Jane let Loki's words find a place in her head. Suddenly an idea burst to the surface. Loki's description…

"You know…" she cautiously started after a short period of silence. "Don't get me wrong, but that sound an awful lot like the workings of the Tesseract…"

Loki shivered and scowled shortly, but he quickly relaxed.

"That's because the Tesseract is exactly that… magic! Of the purest most concentrated sort! Magic forced inside a small box… What do you think that does to magic?"

Jane turned silent. "Errr… I suspect it to be incredibly strong?"

Loki nodded. "And that's a serious understatement. The Tesseract and the Aether too, are what we call, Infinity Stones. Where do you think that name came from?"

Jane nodded and smiled. She was starting to get the picture. "Infinity… Magic is infinite!"

Loki nodded again. "Infinite and powerful! Especially in concentrated form. We barely know anything about the Infinity Stones, but we believe them to be the source of magic itself! We believe they were created at the Beginning of Everything and brought magic to the universe. Just like magic, they're indestructible! And in the wrong hands, dangerous!"

Jane nodded. Pieces were starting to find their place in her head.

"Is that what happened to the dark elves? The cursed ones I mean. They used these stones and turned themselves into… well whatever they became…."

Loki smiled and nodded. "Exactly! Once, the dark elves owned the Aether. Just as the Chitauri they used it to 'load' their weapons. When the dark elves crushed those stones, powered by the Aether, the concentrated magic found their way inside their body's and consumed them, leaving nothing but…"

"An unscrupulous shell!" Jane finished. Loki nodded with smile. He loved it when people showed interest in his knowledge, not that he would admit that…

Jane smiled. She'd totally forgotten about her previous fears. She turned to Thor, who quickly hid his concerned expression.

"Why did you never tell me all that?" Jane asked with a slightly angry tone in her voice. Thor smiled sheepishly, but it was Loki who answered the question.

"I don't think Thor even _remembers_ the lesson's Frigga has given us about magic…" he said. the young king couldn't fully hide his disgust for Thor's lack of respect towards magic and especially towards their mother.

Jane looked at her husband is disbelief, but Loki quickly continued. Now was his chance!

"Anyway, my point being: I have never used magic for bad things and I never will. Think about it, Jane! And if you don't believe me, ask Thor. Please believe me: I would only help Frigga controlling it. Nothing more!"

Jane's enthusiasm disappeared. Had this been trick? Was Loki just trying to get her on his side. Was anything of what he'd said true? _Probably _she realised _because Thor also seemed to know that magic couldn't be used for bad thing…_

Suddenly another idea came to Jane's mind. She frowned and put an serious expression on her face. One of those creepy expression only mother mastered and that made you pee your pants.

"But you blew up my house! That could have hurt, not to mention, kill us!" she reminded the young king. In thoughts she also added: _and you killed Coulson,_ but she wisely decided not to mention that.

Instead of admitting his defeat, as Jane expected, Loki smiled once more.

"I admire your observation skills, Jane, but think again. Was it really my magic that hurt you?"

Jane turned silent again.

"During my subtle redesign of your apartment, I only created a blast of energy. If you would have been hurt, it would have been by the couch, or the splinters flying around, but not by my magic. I only set the rest in motion. Trust me when I say that you'll never see an illusion of mine kill or hurt someone. Those will just be distractions in battle if necessary…"

Jane thought about that. She had to admit Loki was right… A weird feeling took hold of her stomach, a mixture of fear, but also the urge to comply. Jane looked over to Thor. They were both still not fully convinced.

Loki looked from one parent to the other. He was almost there!

"Please…" he said, almost pleading. "I also kind of promised Frigga I would…"

Jane bit her lip. She shared another look with Thor and knew that he was leaving the choice to her. He was obviously trying to avoid another disagreement.

After what seemed like ages, Jane'd finally made up her mind.

"Could we… Well... You think we could sleep on it…" she cautiously asked.

Loki clenched his teeth, but forced a smile on his face. He knew Jane wouldn't change her mind any more, this was the closest he would get for tonight.

"Sure… take your time…" he forced himself to say.

Jane smiled uneasily. She realised Loki was only pretending.

Not really knowing what to do next, Jane got to her feet and waited for Thor and Loki to do the same, but the young king stayed put.

Thor glanced at Jane to warn her not say anything else.

"We'll see you in the morning then…" The God of Thunder said. Loki didn't answer, so Thor just turned around and left, taking Jane with him.

Once they'd left the room, Loki let go of his breath. He'd been so close! The young king closed his eyes and let his head rest on the back of his chair. He was tired again, and so hungry!

-xxx-

Jane and Thor walked through the now empty halls of the palace. They didn't say much, afraid to say something wrong. All the way, Thor became more and more anxious.

Jane opened the front door, walked inside and immediately made her way towards Frigga's room. Carefully she opened the door on a crack. Inside she saw Arya, the temporary babysit, sitting next to Frigga's bed. She was singing an Asgardian lullaby, her voice beautiful and clear, but silent and soft. Her hand resting on Frigga's head, her finger softly stroking her golden locks.

When she noticed the door opening, she put a finger on her lips and smiled. The lullaby came to an end and Arya silently got up and walked on her toes towards the door.

After closing Frigga's bedroom door again, Arya turned around and smiled tiredly.

"She couldn't sleep…" she explained in a whisper. "She thought something was wrong…"

Jane smiled softly.

Arya frowned. "Is something wrong?" she carefully asked. Jane shook her head a little too quickly and put a hand on Arya's shoulder to guide her towards the door.

"Not at all! Thank you for coming…"

Arya frowned, but decided not to question Jane, the princess of Asgard. She turned to both parents, bowed, said "Goodnight, my prince, my lady" and left.

Jane sighed. She was close to tears. She was exhausted and really didn't know what to do.

Thor on the other hand grew too nervous to wait any longer. He followed Jane, who was walking to their own bedroom, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Jane turned around.

Thor cleared his throat and his wife immediately realised something was up.

"Jane," Thor started silently. "There something I need to tell you…"

* * *

**Please let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed it! :)**

**Please review :)**

**Rumple x**


	32. Chapter 31

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 31**_

(MEMORY)

Thor's hand slowly closed around the handle of the Mighty Mjölnir. Again he could hear the people cheer. Again he saw his father, mother and brother beam with proud. At last, the power of the hammer, the Mighty Mjölnir was his to wield! His and his alone!

Slowly the young prince lifted the hammer and let it circle through the air. It felt so light, so perfectly balanced and yet no one else could lift it, but himself and his father. Loki had tried every spell he could think of, but the hammer stayed put without fail. Volstagg, known to be the strongest warrior on Asgard, couldn't move it one inch. Sif had tried to lift it too, if only to prove her strength as a female warrior, but Mjölnir just wouldn't cooperate. At one point, she had even allowed Fandral to help, but still no result.

The young prince smiled while walking over to the balcony which looked over Asgard. Although, his smile faded when his eye fell on the Bifröst. There was something going on! Rumours about troubles on Midgard had come to Thor's attention. Yet, no one wanted to tell him what was going on! His parents wouldn't see him and when the young prince had summoned his friends and brother to investigate the matter themselves, Heimdall had stopped them. "Orders from the king!" he had said. Thor scowled. His father had never forbidden him something like this! And whatever it was, he was sure he could take care of it! Especially with the power of Mjölnir at his side! But no! His farther probably thought him too young! And now he was standing here, doing nothing!

With a loud bang, Mjölnir fell to the ground. Thor sighed and let his head rest on his hand, while leaning on the balustrade. He wasn't too young! One day he would show his farther what he was made of! He would show him his strength and courage! He would show him that he had all the makings of a true king!

"Thor!"

Thor turned on his heels. Fandral came rushing in the room. His face was as pale as ice and he was covered in sweat. His normally constant grin had disappeared and made place for an expression of pure fear. Thor opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but the out of breath Asgardian was first.

"You have to come with me! It's Loki! He's ill!"

Thor's eyebrows shot into the air. He'd seen his brother that same afternoon and he'd been in perfect health!

"Ill?" Thor repeated, now also wondering why Fandral was panicking about it. Everybody could have a bad day…

"It's no ordinary poisoning of sorts, Thor!" the Asgardian warrior anxiously explained. "We – Loki, Sif, and I - were just playing around at the armoury… One moment he was fine and the next, he just collapsed! He looked really bad, Thor!"

The young prince felt his stomach shrink to its minimum. All the colour drained from his face. Thor didn't know why, but Fandral's explanation had awoken a feeling of grave panic inside his heart. Without thinking the young prince started running, past Fandral, into the hall, leaving the Mighty Mjölnir behind on the balcony.

"Where is he now?" Thor asked, even though he already knew.

"The infirmary, of course!" Fandral answered while trying to catch up with his friend.

"Why didn't you go to my mother and father!" the prince shouted.

"I did…" Fandral responded. "But they weren't in the throne room. You were closest, so I thought…"

But Thor wasn't listening any more. His parents weren't in the throne room? Then where were they? When Thor had tried to see his parents, to ask them about the matter on Midgard, he been send away from the throne room by an angry looking Lord Argus. But if they weren't there, why did he send him away?

The young prince shook his head. That all didn't matter now!

Finally they reached the infirmary. Thor bust through the doors. His eye immediately fell on Sif, Volstagg and Hogun who were sitting next to a bed on which Loki lay.

The female warrior got to her feet, looking more worried than ever.

"The nurses already examined him. He's not poisoned, hurt, or enchanted."

Thor frowned and softly pushed Sif aside to see his brother for himself. Loki lay motionless on the bed, his clothes and raven hair drenched in sweat, his breathing fast and irregular. It seemed he was suffering from a really, really aggressive fever.

"Than what is it!" he asked without looking up. Sif exchanged a glare with Fandral behind Thor's back.

"They don't have the slightest clue…"she softly answered.

Thor turned around to face his friends. "What do you mean?" he asked harshly. Sif never got a chance to answer. A nurse came rushing towards them.

"My prince, I will have to ask you to empty this bed. We need it for another patient."

Thor looked up in disbelief.

"How dare you!" he shouted. "This is Loki, prince of Asgard. He is your patient too!"

The nurse seemed to grow impatient.

"The prince is in perfect health. There is nothing we can do for him!"

"Perfect health!" Thor repeated. "Look at him! He's dying!"

The nurse hesitated. "My prince, I believe prince Loki is just tired. Now I have to ask you again, please empty the bed. There are other patients who are in more need of medical care."

Thor wanted to shout something back, he was filled with rage, but Sif stopped him.

"Thor, maybe she's right…"

He female warrior pointed at the rest of the patients. Only then, Thor noticed the incredible amount of wounded warriors. They were literary everywhere. On the beds, at the door, on the floor. The infirmary was packed with patients. Another nurse was dragging a badly wounded warrior to Loki's bed. The nurse they'd been talking too earlier offered to help them to get Loki out of the bed, but for some reason, Thor didn't want anyone but himself to touch his brother. Carefully he lifted Loki's body from the bed and carried his brother to an empty corner of the room. There he lay down Loki's body. Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun took a seat as well. Sif set down too and softly put Loki's head on her lap. She carefully wiped some raven locks from his sweaty face.

"Where do all these warriors come from?" she asked in a broken whisper.

Thor shook his head. Now he was absolutely certain. There was something going on and by the looks of it, something really bad! But again, the young prince couldn't keep his thoughts on the subject. He looked down on his brother, feeling more and more worried every second.

"Fandral!" he suddenly started. "I want you, Volstagg and Hogun to try to find the king and queen!"

Fandral obviously wanted to object, but he knew better than to argue with the prince of Asgard, so he nodded and left with Volstagg and Hogun in his wake.

"Are you sure you didn't do anything rash…" Thor asked Sif. The female warrior shook her head while looking up from Loki's face.

"I swear, Thor. We were just playing around. Fandral, Volstagg and I were just trying to teach Loki some sword moves and Loki was trying to trick us with magic… the usual. He seemed all right! And then… he just collapsed!"

Thor nodded vaguely. He could here that Sif was terrified of what had happened and what would come. Something that didn't happen very often.

The young prince started to feel sick. He was nervous. Really nervous. Something had just struck him. His parents didn't seem to be around. Not on Asgard at least. That meant that the care of Asgard fell on Loki and him, but since Loki wasn't capable of doing anything, he was all alone. All alone! His brother was dying, his friends didn't know what to do… He was the one who was supposed to come up with a solution! For the first time ever, Thor wasn't so sure about his qualities any more. Strength and power wasn't going to help him out this time. He needed wits! He needed Loki, but right know his brother needed him too!

"We better take him to his chambers. There nothing they can do for him here…"

Sif nodded and let Thor pick up his brother again. Loki seemed to be getting worse with every step they took. When they finally had reached Loki's chambers, the mischievous prince was gasping for breath. Thor put him on the bed. What was he supposed to do! Thor looked up at Sif. He knew his fear was visible in his eyes. His little brother was dying!

Sif frowned passionately. She was really scared herself, but understood that Thor was even more terrified.

"Don't worry…" she said. "I am sure everything will be fine…"

Thor nodded while fixing his attention back on Loki. He didn't believe a word it!

_Please Loki… _he thought. _Please wake up and tell me what to do…_

Without warning, the doors of Loki's room suddenly bust open. Frigga and Odin came rushing in, followed by the Warriors Three.

Frigga had tears streaming down her face and Odin had an almost creepy worried expression on his face. Sif immediately walked away from the bed, giving the king and queen all the place they needed.

"Oh Loki...!" Frigga shouted through her tears. "I should have realised!"

The worried mother set down next to Loki and took his hand while putting her hand on her son's sweaty forehead. Odin walked to the other side of the bed.

Thor had never seen his parents this vulnerable. His mother was crying, his farther was completely ignoring him with more worry on his face than Thor thought possible.

Odin let his hand float over Loki's body.

"Thor, step aside!" he ordered his son. The young prince looked up in surprise, but obeyed. Odin set down and opened his hands above Loki's head, with the palms facing the ceiling.

"No!" Frigga suddenly shouted. "You are not going to use Dark Energy on our son!"

"Frigga, we have to hurry! This is the best way!"

"It is not! And you know it! Dark Energy caused this in the first place! You do not know what the effect might be! No! We are doing this my way!"

"Frigga…" Odin tried but one look from his Queen made him shut his mouth.

"What is going on!" Thor shouted. "Mother, what happened to Loki!?"

"Not now, sweetheart!" Frigga answered shortly while trying to stop crying to focus on Loki.

"But mother… Where were.."

"Your mother said: not now!, Thor!" Odin roared over his son's voice. The prince of Asgard stumbled back. His farther seemed furious with him.

"Now leave!" Odin continued. "All of you leave this room at once!"

Sif and the Warrior Three bowed their heads and quickly made their way out the room. Thor threw his farther an angry glare and slowly followed. Outside Thor made a quick decision. There was no way he was just going to accept this. He was the future ruler of Asgard! He was supposed to know when something was wrong!

As silent as possible, he hid behind a large column next to Loki's door. He could hear his parents inside, but he couldn't understand a word they were saying. The walls were too thick. Thor grumbled. If Loki were here he would simply turn them invisible and sneak in the room.

After what seemed like ages, the door finally opened again. Odin came marching out Loki's chambers. Thor pressed his body against the column, making sure his farther wouldn't see him, but Odin didn't even look. He just walked by, the worried expression still covering his face. Thor had never seen his father like this. The Allfather always seemed so… well… serious. And every now and then, also rather heartless. But now…

Thor swallowed. Was Loki all right? Was he… alive? The young prince didn't have to wait long, for his mother walked out the room as well. Her eyes were red and swollen because of the crying, but she seemed less worried than before. Did that mean Loki was fine?

Thor tried to stay focused. Once his mother would have left the hall, he would go back inside to check up on his brother.

Frigga took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes, until a funny feeling took hold of her. It was a sensation she'd felt many times before, only this time it wasn't Loki who was responsible… A kind, yet mysterious smile appeared on her face.

"Thor, my son, I now you are there…"

Thor bid his lip. He hadn't made a sound! How could she know! There was just no fooling his mother!

Timidly, the young prince left his hiding place. He smiled sheepishly, but his face quickly became serious again.

"Is Loki all right, mother?" he asked. Frigga sighed and turned back to the door while gesturing Thor had to follow. So he did.

Once in the room, mother and son walked over to the bed where Loki lay resting peacefully. He was still covered in sweat and looked extremely pale and tired, but he was breathing normally and seemed alive and well.

"What happened, mother?" Thor asked after a short silence.

"There are some things, my son, that are better kept quiet."

Thor sighed and scowled. He was growing tired of this!

"Mother, I demand to know what happened! You were gone! You and farther! There were at least a hundred wounded warriors at the infirmary! Heimdall wouldn't let me leave! There were rumours about troubles on Midgard! Loki just collapsed! I didn't know what to do!"

Frigga sadly frowned. "My son, believe me…"

"I am the future king of Asgard! How am I supposed to lead and protect the nine realms if I do not know what happens around me and which dangers are lurking in the shadows?" Thor shouted, feeling frustrated. He was not a child any longer! The fact that the Mighty Mjölnir was now in his care should only prove that even more!

Frigga sadly smiled. She was sitting next to Loki's bed and was stroking his head while facing Thor who was still standing in the middle of the room, trying to look confident and strong.

"All right, my son, as you wish, but you have to promise that you will never, ever tell Loki what I will tell you now."

Thor frowned but nodded. Frigga waved her hand through the air. A shimmering shield covered Loki's bed in order to keep any sound from the unconscious prince. You never knew if he was pretending or not…

Frigga took a deep breath. She obviously didn't enjoy telling her son this.

"What you heard was true: there were indeed some grave troubles on Midgard. Matters were getting out of hand and both me and your father were forced to go, to prevent the threads from reaching Asgard."

Thor said down next to his mother. "What threats, mother?" he asked.

"You know that I have learned my magic from the Great Merlin himself…"

"Yes, you told us about his lessons…"

Frigga nodded. "Do you also remember what I've told you about the dangers of magic?"

Thor frowned shortly. "I believe so… Magic cannot be used for bad purposes. Otherwise it will turn against you. It's a basic rule of nature!"

Frigga nodded again, almost proud that Thor remembered her lessons. Most of the time, her son son wasn't exactly 'present' …

"My master, Merlin, had many, many children. Every single one of them was a very powerful and respective wizard or witch. As you know, most of them spend their time on Midgard to help out the Midgardians. Unfortunately, right now, it is not the best time for sorcerers to be on Midgard…"

Thor laughed. "What? The Midgardians are going to kill us?" he asked sarcastically.

Frigga didn't laugh, though, and Thor went quiet.

"Right?" the young prince asked.

"Some of Merlin's children have been careless. There magic became to public. The humans have grown scared of the unknown and magic is something they don't understand. A new religion has replaced ours, in which there is no place for sorcerers and witches."

All colour had drained from Thor's face. "But… but… they… the humans can't kill us. Can they, mother?"

Frigga shook her head. "Remember we are not invincible, Thor. We are no gods… Fire can kill us as much as water makes us drown."

Thor swallowed, but forced himself not to show his fear.

Frigga continued.  
"More and more sorceress and witches are killed. Some of them were Merlin's children…"

"But they didn't do any harm!" Thor shouted. His mother took his hand and squeezed it.

"Of course not, my precious, but the Midgardians do not see that. Regrettably, Merlin could not understand their ignorance. When his last daughter had died in flames, he completely lost his mind."

Thor gasped in disbelief. "You don't mean to say that…"

Frigga nodded. Her eyes were filling up with tears once more.

"But…" Thor tried. "But Merlin… he loves the humans! More than anyone else!"

"The line between love and hatred is thin and blurred and it is crossed so easily, my son. Even Merlin couldn't take the pain and loneliness and it drove him to… madness."

Thor couldn't believe what he was hearing. Merlin, THE Merlin, the greatest and most powerful wizard Asgard had ever known was gone!

"You understand that we had to stop him. Even though our forces had outnumbered Merlin, they were no match for his dark power. So your farther and me came down. I tried to reason with my master, but it was in vain. He had to be stopped…. And so your father did…"

"But what… what has this to do with Loki?" the terrified prince asked.

Frigga nodded and waited until she was sure Thor was ready to hear the rest.

"Even though your brother doesn't realise it yet, he is really strong when it comes down to magic. Probably even more powerful than me. When the balance of nature is disturb, those who practise magic can feel it. I, myself, felt this too, but not this intense. I should have realised it sooner…"

Thor had the feeling something was missing from his mother's explanation, something was not right, but he was too upset to give to much thought to it.

"So… Merlin is… is…" the young prince stuttered.

"Dead…" Frigga finished as if she also had to convince herself that her master was gone for good.

The room stayed quiet for a couple of minutes with only Loki's steady breathing breaking the silence.

"Thor, my son…" Frigga said after a while, while placing her hand softly under her Thor's chin, forcing him to look at her.

"You have to promise never to tell this to Loki. Merlin has always been his great example and it would kill him to know of this tragedy. It's better if your brother never knows the truth…"

(END MEMORY)

Thor turned silent. He'd just told Jane everything he could remember of that unfaithful day.

Jane didn't know what to think.

"So what Loki said about Merlin, back at the tourist office…"

"All true…" Thor answered. "Except that he thinks Merlin died of old age…"

"How exactly is this going to help with me allowing Frigga to become… well… a witch!"

Thor sighed. "To be honest, I think it would be better for Frigga to be tutored. What happened to her is something… very powerful. And the fact that even Loki doesn't understand it, gives me the creeps."

"Oh, so you're just going to let him experiment on our daughter!"

"I'm going to let him help her, Jane!"

"But you just told me that even the strongest wizard of all time has gone mad! How do we now that won't happen to Loki or… to Frigga…"

"We don't." Thor simply answered. "I told you this because I didn't want you to find out on yourself and blame Loki afterwards for not telling you."

Jane nodded vaguely. _And you're afraid to argue with me after last night… _she thought.

"Jane…" Thor suddenly started again, sounding almost hesitatingly. "Please promise me you'll never tell Loki this… You see… After my parents had told me who Loki really was, my mother reminded me of that day. Loki's illness had nothing to do with the fact that he practised magic. As a frost giant, he stands closer to the elements, more specifically, ice. Because he's bound to nature like that, he could feel the disturbance like no one else. If Loki finds out that mother was lying to him about his real parentage too, he might loose it as well…"

Jane nodded. She wasn't crazy! Telling Loki he had been living a lie, hadn't turned out so good last time either…

Both parents stayed silent for a while.

"I'm sorry, Thor…" Jane said. "But I'm still not sure…"

Thor sighed and smiled.

"Was he telling the truth?" the worried mother continued. "Has Loki really never used magic for bad purposes before. I mean like… hurting people?"

Thor shook his head. "No…"

"And he never will?"

"Absolutely, Jane! I'm positive! Loki may be the God of Mischief, but he's no idiot. Besides, it would dishonour mother if he would use magic like that. He would never, ever do such a thing!"

Jane sighed and frowned. Thor came closer to her and put his hand softly on her face, forcing her to look at him.

"Believe me, Jane. I am one hundred percent sure that there is not a better tutor in the world to teach Frigga then Loki…"

* * *

**Thank you all for reading this fic for so long! Hope you liked it!**

**Please let me know what you think :)**

**Rumple x**


	33. Chapter 32

**Thanks for waiting :) Hope you ENJOY it!**

**WARNING: this chapter contains violence**

* * *

_**Chapter 32**_

Thor cautiously gathered his things. As quiet as possible he opened the door of the bedroom and made his way towards the front door. Slowly he reached for the handle, turned it and opened the door.

"Be careful…" a silent voice sounded behind him. The God of Thunder almost tripped. He turned around and faced a tired looking Jane. She was standing in the open bedroom doorway, a soft blanket rapped around her shoulders. She smiled, but couldn't hide the worry beneath it.

Last night, Thor had informed her that he, the Warriors Three, Lady Sif and Arya were about to go on a quest to Vanaheim. Of course she hadn't been too keen about it, but she understood that action was more than necessary right now. So she didn't argue…

Thor smiled back. "Always…" he whispered back. For a second he thought about walking over to Jane. Just to give her a hug, a kiss maybe… to say goodbye, but he couldn't. It was as if by doing that, he would allow himself not to come back. Now he simply had to!

The God of Thunder turned his back to his wife and closed the door behind him. Jane gulped. She already missed him…

-xxx-

Thor marched outside the palace towards Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. They were standing next to the stables, talking in excitement. Finally some action! Only Sif kept on glaring over at someone standing a little bit further. Thor looked and saw Arya, waiting nervously next to her horse. Loki was talking to her. When the young king spotted his brother he immediately made his way towards him.

"Finally!" Loki said. "About time! I thought you weren't going to show up!"

Thor didn't answer. He still wasn't very happy about Loki's decision. If this went south, Asgard would not only loose it's crown prince/Captain, but also its best warriors. Loki sighed.

"Look, just do me a favour and make sure Arya gets settled in. She's one bundle of nerves and Sif doesn't look like she going to make it any easier for her…"

Thor looked past his brother at Arya. She was obviously trying to decide whether to join the others or not. The God of Thunder nodded.

"All right… but you promise me this, Loki. You take care of Jane and Frigga while I'm gone! And in case anything would happen…"

Loki grinned. "Oh please! Thor! Since when did you become so melodramatic!"

Thor didn't laugh, but just walked past his brother and joined his friends while gesturing to Arya that she had to join too. The young Captain hesitatingly obeyed.

-xxx-

About ten minutes later, Thor rode down the rainbow bridge with Sif and Arya in his wake. Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun followed. When they reached the Bifröst, everyone dismounted their horse and followed their prince inside. Heimdall, standing on his normal spot, bowed his head.

"Good morning, my prince, my ladies, my lords…" he said. Thor tried to smile. Even though he wanted nothing more than to get some action, he had a really bad feeling about this mission.

"How's the weather on Vanaheim?" Fandral asked with a smile, ignoring Sif's rolling eyes.

"Dreadful, my Lord!" Heimdall answered dryly.

"Oh dear…" Fandral continued. "And Sif just had her hair done…"

Lady Sif playfully pushed Fandral aside and walked to the front of the Bifröst.

"We'll see who will be the first to complain about 'bad hair'…" she answered.

"Please send us to Vanaheim, Heimdall…" Thor said while taking his place in front of the Bifröst. As usual he was first, followed by Sif and Arya. The Warriors Three were last.

The Guardian nodded and let his sword sink inside the whole in the middle of the room. The walls of the Bifröst started turning.

"I will send you to the very edge of Vanaheim, to the border between the land and the wilderness where I suspect you will find the bandits. But be warned. For some reason my vision is blurred around those parts. I cannot foresee what dangers are awaiting you!"

Fandral took his place too and rubbed his hands together. "Sounds brilliant!" he shouted in excitement. The warrior was standing right behind the nervous Arya.

"My Lady! First field trip? My hand is free to hold…" he said with grin. Fandral didn't mean to sound rude. The playful sparkle in his eyes only made that more clear.

Arya looked over her shoulder her and smiled uneasily. She didn't really know what to answer. Fandral was a Lord, one of The Warriors Three!

Volstagg, who was standing next to Fandral, span his axe around in his hand and rolled his eyes.

"Don't pay attention to him, Arya. He's a first class idiot!"

"A first class, probably the most handsome, talented and charming idiot!" Fandral added with a grin.

Volstagg sighed. "He lacks attention as much as manners! Just ignore him…"

Fandral smiled. "You can look away, but you can never ignore me…" he said sarcastically while winking towards the already blushing new recruit of the team.

"Shut up, Fandral..." Thor said with a sigh, just before the rainbow grabbed them all and sucked them away from Asgard. Nobody noticed Heimdall's golden eyes, suspiciously scanning the room.

-xxx-

Thor had never thought he could miss travelling with the Bifröst this much, but he almost felt sad when his feet touched the ground again. One by one his friends followed. Heimdall hadn't been lying: the weather was indeed horrible. It was raining cats and dogs and everyone was soaking wet within seconds. If only Loki were here now. The God of Mischief could have created a shield which would not only stop the rain, but would also help a great deal with the mission.

"All right! What's the plan?" Sif asked while stepping next to Thor.

"Loki wanted us to find out where and who they are in the first place. We'll try to make a headcount and we'll see if we can stop them… Loki also suspected that the missing warriors are still here. We have to be careful, though. There's always a chance we're dealing with a sorcerer. That might explain why Heimdall can't see them…"

Sif nodded. "Sounds reasonable…"

"So what do we do then?" Volstagg joined in.

"I say we start searching for them…" Sif answered. Thor nodded and started walking. The others followed.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but wouldn't it be better if we split up?" a voice suddenly sounded behind them.

Everybody turned and watched Arya still standing on the spot where the Bifröst had dropped her. Sif squeezed her eyes in anger. Was this rookie doubting her?

Arya nervously shifted her weight and cleared her throat now that all attention was fixed on her.

"I just thought that maybe we could use the rain to our advantage. If we split up, we can cover more ground and one person is harder to spot than a group. Especially in this weather."

Everyone turned silent and watched Thor, waiting for his opinion. Slowly a big smile appeared on his handsome face.

"Indeed.." he said, sounding extremely proud. Arya smiled. For a second there, she had been sure she'd messed up again, but now all she could do was beam with proud. Thor nodded and smiled.

"You heard your Captain!" he said. "Split up! Back here within five hours! And if you find something, you mark it and make sure you'll find your way back when it stops raining!"

Even before Thor was done, Sif had already turned around and stamped off. Volstagg smiled to Frigga and also disappeared. Fandral on the other hand watched Sif's silhouette until she was nothing more then a dark spot moving through the curtain of rain. He turned to Arya grinned, raised his eyebrows in an admiring way and winked before turning around too.

Arya didn't know if she had to smile or not. She liked the new attention she got from the warriors, she almost felt accepted, but she'd also pissed of Lady Sif…

After Hogun had disappeared too, Thor walked over to the hesitating woman and petted her shoulder. Arya's knees almost cracked under the sudden weight.

"Good job, Captain…" he said before leaving Arya on her own too.

Arya decided to smile. Maybe this whole trip wouldn't turn out to be that bad after all.

-xxx-

Arya cautiously made her way through the deserted land. She'd never been to this part of Vanaheim. She did remember visiting the towns of Vanaheim with her farther, but that was a long time ago.

With every step she took Arya expected someone to jump at her from behind, so she held her hands on her trusty bow at all times. Maybe she was just paranoid, but she had the feeling she was being followed. Yet, every time she turned around, there was no one there.

It had been three hours already and she'd seen nothing. And with nothing, she actually meant absolutely nothing. The rainfall had increased over the last hour and Arya couldn't see one metre ahead. She frequently bumped into rocks, boulders and trees. Besides that, she was soaked to the bone and she felt as if she was changing into an icicle.

_Think of something funny… _Arya thought while trying to keep her teeth from chattering. For some reason, she had to think of Asgard and of Loki, now sitting in his throne, in a warm, cosy room. Of course he had to listen to the boring talks of the royal advisers, but right now Arya would gladly switch places. A slight smile appeared on Arya's wet face. She didn't know why, but thinking of her king, made her smile. _Weird _she thought while only just managing not to trip over a sudden rock. She'd always looked upon Loki with a bit of fear. Everyone knew what he could do… Especially when you failed him… But now Arya also … just … thought of him.

Arya's thoughts were rudely disturbed when a sudden high-pitched noise cut through the air. It almost sounded like a horn… Thought the rain, she couldn't really make up where it came from, but she didn't have to look far.

Everywhere she looked Arya could see dark hooded figures appear through the wall of rain. There were still far from her, and probably couldn't spot her, but Arya didn't see an escape. She was trapped!

Arya's heart started working extra hours. What was she supposed to do now! Cautiously she reached for the quiver on her back, and put an arrow on her bow. She was ready to defend herself! Oh, who was she kidding! There were just too many!

It was only a matter of second now…. Arya could hear the… whatever they were, getting near. How long did she have left? What would they do to her? Was this really it? Was she really going to fail after all!

Suddenly an arm rapped around Arya's neck and pulled her down. The female warrior started fighting, but the arm was simply too strong. Before she knew it, Arya was being dragged behind a bush behind which seemed to be a – hopefully – empty cave. Her assailant pushed her hard against the ground. Arya tried to scream but a slim hand prevented any sound from leaving her lips.

"Lay still!" a familiar voice ordered her in a whisper. Arya let her eyes adjust to the little light in the cave. The person she saw, was the last one she'd expected. Lady Sif was sitting on top of her, covering her mouth with one finger, gesturing that she had to be quiet. Outside the troops passed by. Only when the sound of the heavy footsteps had disappeared in the rain for at least ten seconds; Lady Sif let go. Cautiously Arya rolled on her side and sat up on her knees.

"Thank… thank you… my lady" she stuttered. Sif didn't answer, but took a quick look outside the cave to make sure everyone was gone.

"You have to stay focused!" Sif said harshly while returning inside the cave. "What were you thinking! I saw them coming ages ago!"

Arya carefully got to her feet. The cave seemed to be high enough to stand in, although she wasn't sure Thor would be able to stand up too.

A slight blush coloured Arya's cheeks. She hoped that the cave was dark enough not to show.

Sif walked further into the cave. In the back she kneeled down and grabbed her shield and sword she'd left there.

"On my search I suddenly found a river…" she continued. Arya followed her every move and watched the female warrior with a questioning look in her eyes as if saying: "So… rivers happen to flow on certain parts of the land…"

Before Arya could readjust her expression Sif carried on. "Which would have been normal!" she said harshly, making Arya take a step back. "If not for the fact that it was way bigger than it's supposed to be. I have never been in this part of Vanaheim, but I have seen that river from afar and right now it has burst it's banks!"

Arya nodded. "So what do you think it's causing it?" she asked, slightly afraid of appearing as a total idiot… which she did, judging by Sif's expression of disbelief.

"What do you think!" Sif shouted. "What makes a river flood!"

Arya felt the blood rushing through her cheeks. She was sure she knew the answer, but right now her head was one big chaos.

"The rain…" she silently answered.

Sif sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, eventually! I'm talking about dams!"

Arya quickly nodded, her mouth hanging open in a silent "Oh…"

And then it finally struck her! The pieced started to find their place again and Arya could think straight.

"You… you think the bandits build dams!" she shouted a little too excited. "That means they must have a camp nearby… probably a really big camp if they're in need of such a water reserve…"

Sif smiled, but the irony almost melted of her face. "Wow! You're a genius!" she said after which her smile immediately disappeared.

"Did you find something?" Arya asked after a couple of silent seconds.

"I would have… if not for that impossible rain!"

Arya didn't really know what to say anymore, so she just stood there, looking awkward.

"I followed the river…." Sif eventually continued. All I found was an enormous hole. It seemed empty, but now I'm starting to suspect that it might be some kind of entrance…"

Arya frowned. "You mean their living underground?"

"It appears so…" Sif answered. Both women went silent and Arya had the feeling she had to say something… Something like: "Hey! I know we kind of got off on a bad start… Maybe we could start over!", but that sounded so incredibly cheesy that Arya was certain Sif would run out the cave.

"I think it's time we go back! "Sif suddenly said. "I'll tell them about the cave and then we can set up camp here…"

Without further notice, she turned around and wanted to leave the cave. Arya followed, but was immediately pushed back by Sif. Arya was so surprised she almost tripped, but Sif held her up with one arm while gesturing with the other that she had to be quiet.

Arya was just about to mouth "What's going on?" When her eye suddenly fell on a lonely form in the rain. It was nothing more than a silhouette, but it was obviously one of the hooded figures from before, probably someone who had fallen behind. When he'd past the entrance of the cave, Sif and Arya cautiously stuck out there heads, trying to see where the hooded figure was going. A sudden idea sprang to Arya's mind and it was downright crazy, but worth trying….

"Why not follow him?" she whispered behind Sif. The female warrior turned in surprise. She almost forgot to be disgusted of Arya…

"Are you crazy!" she started, but Arya was quick to interrupt. A new kind of curiosity and courage had found a place inside her heart, along with the excited sparkle in her eyes.

"Why not?" she asked. "He's completely alone! He probably won't spot us! If we follow him, we can see if your suggestions where right! That way we won't walk into a trap tomorrow!"

Sif raised her eyebrows in a way she normally only did towards her friends. "You doubt my _suggestions_?" she asked.

Arya's cheeks turned red once more. "N… No… of course not, my lady, I was just… eer…"

Lady Sif sighed. She recognised the excitement in Arya's eyes. After all, they must have been somewhere around the same age…

_Honestly…_ Sif thought while watching the silhouette disappear in the rain _I really want to do something rash too!_

Sif bid her lip, but she knew she'd already made up her mind. A mysterious smile formed on her lips.

"Well then… what are we waiting for!" she exclaimed just before pulling herself out of the cave into the gushing rain. Arya followed. Together, they ran after the now almost invisible black spot in the distance.

Arya noticed Sif had been right. To her left she saw an enormous river flowing through the landscape. The closer they got, the slower they ran until they were walking pretty close behind the stranger. If it hadn't been for the rain, they would have been spotted in no time!

The bandit was wearing a light brown cloak with the hood pulled over his head. The fabric reached just above his feet, and stroke the grass while he was walking fast along the river, not aware of his pursuers. Arya and Sif walked for another ten minutes before the cloaked figure turned left, towards the river. When they got closer, Arya could see the hole Sif had been talking about, curled up in a bend of the river.

Suddenly Lady Sif pulled Arya behind a boulder next to the hole. The both watched how the bandit grabbed a rope which was had been hidden behind some bushes at the edge, and slowly descended on the steep wall of the pit.

Sif looked at Arya with her eyebrows high. "Suggestions approved?" she asked with a smile.

Arya nodded. "Of course, my Lady! I never doubted you…"

Sif smiled and turned her attention back on the pit before her. She knew they were both think the same senseless thing.

After a couple of seconds Sif and Arya looked at each other.

"You're officially nuts!" Sif declared.

"So it seems…" Arya answered with a huge smile. She could feel the excitement in her stomach.

Sif sighed but smiled. Oh, how much she'd missed this!

"All right, but we must be quick! We have to get back in time!"

"I think we still got an hour left…" Arya immediately answered.

Sif nodded. "This is the plan! No arguing!"

Arya eagerly nodded.

"I go down, have a quick look around while you stand watch!

Arya clearly wanted to go down herself, but she wisely didn't argue.

"Understood, my lady!" she said just before getting on her feet and following Sif towards the pit.

"If you see any trouble, you shoot an arrow down the hole! All you have to do is make sure nobody cuts my rope while I'm still down there!"

Arya nodded and prepared her bow while Sif grabbed the rope. Now that they were closer, they could see numerous ropes being hidden under the bushes. Carefully Sif put her feet on the sloppy wall and started descending too while Arya kept a close eye on their surroundings.

"Don't lose focus this time!" Sif called just before disappearing from view. The seconds went by. One by one… Time seemed to have slowed down. And with every second Arya grew more and more uncertain of this crazy idea. Would she hear someone coming in this rain? Would somebody come anyway? Maybe it would have been a better idea to send Thor down, since he could just fly up again if any trouble occurred. Arya felt her hand trembling on her bow and it wasn't just because she was frozen.

_Don't lose it now…_ she said to herself. _Stay calm! Stay focused!_

Seconds turned into minutes. Had Sif already reached the bottom? Was she alright? Was this pit so deep that – if there was something wrong – Arya would be able to hear it?

A sudden, familiar sound made Arya jump a foot in the air. She looked and completely froze. In horror she watched as a hooded bandit pointed in her direction, holding the horn he'd just blown, shouting something at the rest of his party. About six others joined in. Somewhere in the pit the same horn was blown, but Arya didn't wait for that. As in a trance she shot an arrow into the pit. The black shadow disappeared in the deep darkness. Arya positioned herself over the Sif's rope and readied her bow again while hiding as much as possible behind the bushes. He black Captain's armour should make her hard to spot. The rope tightened. Sif had started her clime upwards. Everywhere around her Arya saw bandits appear. She assumed this wasn't the only hole.

That gave Arya a new idea. She pulled the knife which was hidden inside her boot, meant only for emergencies. Something like… well… right now! As fast as possible she crawled around the pit, cutting every rope, but Sif's. Now this pit was safe! Arya decided to keep the last rope and tie it to her strongest and fastest arrow. If she was forced to fall back and jump in the pit she could use it as a grappling hook.

The bandits were closing in on her and Sif still wasn't visible! Arya could feel her heart beat in her throat, but instead of being scared, as she suspected, she only felt strong. Stronger and faster than ever!

Arya readied her bow once more and put the knife back in her boot. When the first set of cloaked bandits arrived, Arya jumped up from her hiding place and shot three arrows right after each other, not one missing its target. The bandits, taken by surprise, immediately fell to the ground.

"What?" Arya shouted, feeling better than ever. "Never seen a bow before?"

Unfortunately, they had, because the next thing Arya knew was a dozen of sharp arrows flying narrowly around her head. Arya ducked, turned and shot a few arrows of her own at random, hoping she would at least hit some of the - not as good as her – archers. A couple of blood curdling cries gave her the answer. Now at least twenty bandits stormed towards her. Swords, spears, axes, braches, torched held up high! Arya shot, ducked and shot again, but only managed to take five down.

With on arrow in each hand, she waited for the rest. The first one brought down his sword, missed and felt the painful stench of an arrow, stabbed in his knee. The bandit tripped and fell, head down, into the pit. The second and third, both with a spear attacked from both sides. Arya used the point of her arrow to cut though the weak flesh of the firsts unprotected upper arm and pushed him back. The second, attacked, but tripped over Arya's back after she'd ducked down just in time. She grabbed the spear and defeated both bandits. The rest followed and Arya started to run out of arrows. So she took out her blade. With swift, almost elegant steps she moved through the bandits, cutting and stabbing when possible. Finally, Sif came into view. She had a deep cut on her arm, probably from an arrow shot from the bottom, but she kept on climbing.

Arya had the feeling that with every bandit she took down, two took his place and she was getting tired. After one well-placed kick, a screaming bandit fell down the pit as well. Arya turned and stood eye to eye with the biggest guy she'd ever seen. She raised her hand, but knew she would never be in time to block his attack. Arya closed her eyes waiting for the fatal blow. At least she would have died with honour! But that never came... Arya opened her eyes and watched a grinning Sif, pulling her sword out of the giants back.

"Having fun without me? That's not very nice!" she said before turning too and fighting off the other bandits.

Arya sighed in relief. Suddenly her eye fell on a dwarf coming closer. He was so small that the grass, bushes and rain almost covered him completely. As if things couldn't get any weirder, the dwarf was carrying a huge blade, raised up high, ready to cut Sif into the pieces. Arya jumped in between Sif and the dwarf, blocking his - unbelievably strong – attack. She was thrown back towards the pit. Because of the rain, the edges were getting all muddy and unstable. Arya tried to keep her balance, which seemed to work at first, until the ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked and disappeared. Arya slipped and fell with a horrifying scream which muted Sif's shouts.

Arya didn't waist her time and pulled out the strong and fast arrow with the rope she'd kept. With one lucky move she shot it towards the edge, knowing that she could touch the ground any second.

The arrow hit the wall and buried itself deep in the earth. The rope tightened and swung Arya towards the wall. Her feet touched first. Arya burned her hands, slipping down the rope, but her fingers, used to the cutting cord of a bow, found grip. With her heart beating in her throat and her hands burning, Arya held on tight for a couple of seconds, not able to move.

After what seemed like ages, she slowly looked down. The ground was only a few meters away from her. Luckily, the archers had disappeared, probably to fight the battle elsewhere.

Arya swallowed and tried to keep her body from shaking. She had to climb! Fast! And so she did.

After years and years of climbing over the walls of the palace to get into the armoury, she was quit a climber, even in slightly traumatised state.

The rain started falling on her face again. She was almost there! The shouts and screams became more clear. And then… Arya's heart stopped beating. Her arrow had hit the wall, but not high enough! She had to climb at least two meters without rope! Above her head, Arya could spot Sif's shining armour and dark hair. Bandits were dropping like flies. A horn sounded over the plain. The bandits were retreating! They were probably losing to many men on Sif.

"My Lady!" Arya called out desperately, shaking all over her body.

Sif looked down the pit. She was bleeding from a an ugly looking head wound, but when she saw Arya alive and well - sort off – she almost fell in herself.

"I can't get any further!" Arya shouted. Sif looked at the arrow.

"Hold on!" she shouted back.

_Easy for you to say! _Arya thought while looking at her arrow which was had started bending under her weight.

"Hurry!" she called. Sif appeared back above her.

"I can't tie the ropes to anything!" she shouted. And I can't hold you either! I'll slip! The ground is too muddy!"

Arya felt the tears of pure fright fight their way through her eyes.

Sif was starting to panic too and the arrow wasn't going to hold for very much longer.

"You have a knife?" Sif suddenly asked. Arya nodded.

"Use it to cut holes in the ground to climb! The earth might still be hard enough!"

Arya swallowed and reached down her boot. The arrow cracked, but didn't break yet. Shaking and shivering, Arya managed to get her hand on the knife. She put the blade between her teeth, changed hands and took the knife again. As fast as possible she started cutting a tiny hole in the wall. The earth was incredibly firm. The Arrow cracked again and Arya fell down a couple of inches. With her heart beating in her throat she kept cutting. The tears in her eyes made it almost impossible to see. One cut finished!

Crack! The arrow broke further. Arya fell down a little bit. She wanted to scream, but she was simply too terrified! While shivering unstoppably she started cutting a next hole, underneath the first. Somewhere above her she could hear Sif's voice, but the words were nothing more than some meaningless muttering. She was probably encouraging her… Or maybe she was already giving up on her….

The rope started to untie itself around the arrow. At least the pressure on the arrow decreased too that way… Not that it would keep her alive any longer!

Finally, the second cut was finished! Arya put her right foot in the hole. Just in time! The arrow cracked one last time and without further notice, half the arrow and the rope fell down in the depths of the pit. Arya grabbed the first hole with her right hand and forced herself not to look down. Trembling with fear she took the knife in her left hand and started craving the next hole. Slowly she started climbing up the wall. Step by step. Hole by hole. It seemed to take ages, but with every inch she got closer to the surface, the earth became looser.

Sif lay down and stretched out her arm, trying to reach Arya, knowing that the bandits could return any moment with reinforcements. Arya did the same. Their fingertips touched!

Come on!" Sif shouted. "Just a little further!" Arya stood on the tips of her toes and reached again.

Just a little bit! And then… Sif's strong hand closed around Arya's wrist. She pulled as hard as she could. Arya stretched out her second arm. Sif grabbed it and pulled again, while Arya tried to push herself up the wall with her feet. Slowly, but steadily, Arya came over the edge. Head first, shoulders, waist, legs…

Finally Arya fell down in the muddy ground. Shivering and trembling with pure fear, all over her body! She was exhausted, frozen, burned, cut, bruised and wet! Sif help the crying warrior on her feet and dragged her away from the pit, away from the river. After a couple of minutes, Arya seemed to find the strength in her legs again. Both women started running for their lives.

They were incredibly late!

* * *

**There you go! I hope you liked it!**

**Please leave a review or comment ;)**

**Rumple x**


	34. Chapter 33

**HI! How you're all doing? :)**

**It's not much, but I wanted to give you guys something! ENJOY!**

**PS: Big thanks to my sister for helping out! ;)**

* * *

_**Chapter 33**_

Thor paced around the circle of the Bifröst which was still slightly visible under the now muddy underground.

"Where are they?" he asked out loud.

Fandral who as leaning against a nearby boulder, sighed. "Maybe they're staying away on purpose, if only not go crazy of your pacing!" he said sarcastically. Volstagg threw his friend a meaningful look and walked over to Thor.

He placed a hand on the God of Thunder's shoulder and forced him to stand still.

"Don't worry, my friend. They will be here soon enough!"

"They should have been here about half an hour ago!" Thor harshly responded after which he pulled himself from Volstagg's grip and started pacing again. "I expect something like this from Fandral, but not from Sif and Arya!"

Fandral looked up from his sword he'd been cleaning with no reason and shouted: "What's that supposed to mean!"

Thor didn't answer. His eye fell on Hogun who suddenly appeared through the rain.

"I don't see them anywhere…" the Vanaheimer started sadly while walking closer. Thor nodded, while trying not to show his worry. He knew Sif could take care of herself, but Arya? Why did he even agree with Loki to take her with them. He'd seen her fight and she wasn't that bad at all, but Thor wasn't sure about her qualities as a survivor…

"Maybe they found something? Maybe they're together… or maybe they've both found something…" Volstagg carefully suggested. In his head he added _or something happened_, but he wisely decided to leave that one out.

Thor nodded again. "That's possible…" he answered vaguely, obviously think the same thing as Volstagg.

"So…" Hogun asked after a short silence. "You suggest we search for them?"

"No-o-o!" Fandral shouted while sheathing his sword. "This is Sif we're talking about! Searching for her would be a disgrace… for her!"

"No, we're not just talking about Sif! Arya's out there too!"

Fandral wanted to answer, but he couldn't find the right words. He still had to adjust to the new member of their team. Judging by the expression on the other faces, he wasn't the only one. Neither of them knew whether Arya was capable of looking after herself or not…

"Well, we can't just randomly start searching…." Volstagg continued. "They could be anywhere? Do we split up?"

Thor seemed to think over the best strategy. "Which way did they go? Both of them?"

The God of Thunder waited for an answer, but it stayed quiet. Everyone looked around, hoping they could find footprints, but the rain and mud had washed them away. In fact, they now realised how unprepared they'd acted. They'd just took off without even talking over the plan, without marking the covered ground.

"I think... I came from that direction…" Fandral eventually said, while pointing behind him, but Volstagg quickly interrupted.

"No, no! You came from the opposite direction, I'm sure of it! You walked straight to that boulder to rest you lazy arse!"

Fandral pretended to be in shock. "I did not! I am positive I past that tree behind me!"

"No you didn't!"

"Well, at least I'm trying to get us somewhere!"

"Shut up!" Thor roared. Immediate silence fell over the four friends. Thor groaned and rubbed his forehead.

Fandral sighed. "Never thought I would say this… but this is where we miss Loki…."

Volstagg nodded and dropped his axe on the ground so he could rest his arms on the handle. "You're right… Loki used to take care of the annoying details…"

"Well Loki's not here now!" Thor interrupted impatiently. "Now, let us try to…"

"Hold on!" Fandral suddenly shouted. He loosened his lazy arse from the boulder and narrowed his eyes. The others followed his stare. In the distance, two figures appeared. Two running figures in the rain. Automatically, everyone drew their weapon, ready for what could come.

The two figures started to take shape. The first one wore a golden armour, a shining shield and a sword. Her long black hair waving with every step. Right behind her ran another women, fully dressed in black, with an bow on her back.

Thor and the Warriors Three relaxed.

_Finally _they thought.

Fully soaked, heavily breathing and slightly panicking, the two women arrived at the circle. Without further notice, both Arya and Sif fell on their backs in the muddy sand. They didn't care if they were getting dirty, it couldn't get any worse!

"What in Odin's name happened!" Thor shouted both angry and relieved, but he didn't get an answer. Sif was gasping for breath and Arya had started crying again. She wasn't really sure if it was because she was still terrified, or just relieved.

Thor frowned. Through the rain and mud he could see several bleeding wounds on both women. The God of Thunder shared a look with his friends, but no one seemed to get a clue. And then, out of nowhere, both women started laughing! Never mind the mud or the rain!

The four men didn't know what they'd missed, but right there, at their very feet, lay two almost hysterical women laughing and rolling through the mud. And there was no stopping it!

-xxx-

One hour later, Arya and Sif had filled the others in on what had happened. After some discussion, Thor had allowed both women to continue the mission. He had been worried that they were too badly injured to go on, but Arya had guaranteed him that she'd never felt better. And Sif… well… there was no question about her opinion.

Of course, Arya did ask Heimdall if he could send a new set of arrows down and also some ropes, since these seemed to come in very handy!

After what seemed ages the rain finally stopped, but that didn't come as an advantage. Without the rain, you could see miles and miles around. Only in the far distance they could see dark mountains rise from the surface. The wilderness…

Thor ordered everyone to hide behind a bunch of trees standing a little bit further. They would set up camp there and at least they wouldn't be out in the open. Now that the bandits knew they were here, they couldn't be too careful!

Unfortunately, the trees weren't a big luxury either. Even though it had stopped raining, the trees' branches were still full of water. It was almost as if it was a local shower!

"There's a cave nearby the bandits' hideout…" Sif said while watching Fandral bungle with the fire. The firewood was way too wet and big raindrops kept on falling in the warriors neck, which made him shriek and jump around like a girl four five minutes.

Thor shook his head. "Too dangerous! They know we're here! Caves like that are the first they check…"

Sif nodded vaguely and sighed. She'd been hoping on a dry night…

"Aha!" Fandral suddenly shouted. Strangely enough, he'd managed to light the fire.

Sif frowned. "How did you do that?" she asked. "That wood was soaking wet!"

Fandral got to his feet and grinned. "Doubting my fire making qualities? Accept that I am in fact a genius! Even this wood couldn't resist my hot personality!"

Sif raised her eyebrows. "Not stating anything, Mr. genius without eyebrows!" she said with a smile.

Fandral's grin faded. He picked up Sif's sword and watched his reflection in the blade. A high pitched shout followed.

Everyone started laughing, even Arya couldn't keep herself from smiling. She'd been watching the other's from a distance, wondering if she would join them.

Suddenly Sif looked up and gestured she had to come closer.

Feeling a little awkward, Arya did as she was told and set down next to Volstagg.

"I am truly sorry I have been such a… well… a bitch. I guess I was unreasonable…" Sif started with a friendly smile.

"Don't you mean _jealous…_" Volstagg asked with grin.

"Or completely insensitive, downright rude and the biggest nitwit in history!" Fandral added still trying to convince himself his reflection was fake.

Sif smirked and sighed. "Anyway, you have proven yourself to be an amazing warrior! You have saved my life and I am proud to call you my friend! Welcome to the team! From this day forward we shall be called Lady Sif, The Warriors Three and Fandral!"

Arya laughed and Fandral looked up in awe.

"You can't kick me out like that! I'm irreplaceable!"

-xxx-

The night fell and it seemed even the trees were running out of water. The group prepared the little food they'd brought with them. Volstagg grew more irritated every second. He enjoyed a good meal!

Things only got better. At one point, Sif had started telling Arya stories of their former quests and adventures.

"… there was this time when Loki and I constantly fought…"

Thor smiled and nodded. "Oh, I remember that… That's a long time ago…"

Fandral grinned. "But worth remembering…."

Arya looked from one warrior to the other. "What? What happened?"

Sif and Thor shared a look, silently asking who would tell the story.

"We were still teenagers…" Thor started. "Loki and Sif just couldn't stand each other! It almost lasted for three years before they could have a proper conversation again."

"Why were you fighting?" Arya asked. "I thought all of you were like… best friends…"

"Oh we were!" Sif quickly responded. "But every friendship has its bad moments…"

"To be honest… I don't remember how it all started." Thor continued. "You know how things like that go… It all starts with something stupid and tiny and suddenly every single thing is a reason to start fighting…"

"It had probably something to do with Sif's teasing…" Volstagg joined in the conversation. Sif looked at him in awe, but couldn't hide her smile.

"He was asking for it!"

Volstagg smiled.

"Anyway…" Thor carried on. "Things got quit messy and Loki tricked Sif into going to Jotenheim all on her own. Unfortunately she ran into some Jötuns."

"Which I would have beaten if they hadn't taken me by surprise!"

Thor ignored her and continued. "Loki was the only one who knew of Sif's whereabouts and by the time Heimdall would have send for us to help, it would have been too late. So Loki went on his own and saved Sif…"

"Well, turning us invisible is not my idea of rescue…" Sif added.

"You should be grateful he was there!" Volstagg interrupted. Sif shut up, she knew he was right.

"But of course that was not the funniest part of the story!" Fandral suddenly continued, ignoring Thor and Sif's angry glares.

"When they got back, Sif couldn't deny the rescue and Loki couldn't deny he had done it either…"

"Very awkward situation!" Sif added.

Thor grinned. Arya watched Sif with curiosity lighting up her emerald eyes. Normally she would have been shocked by the way these people were talking about her king, but they all referred to Loki as their friend, so Arya forgot.

"And it got more embarrassing!" Fandral shouted. Sif hit the warrior on his shoulder.

Fandral laughed, but understood the message.

Sif continued.  
"I was really angry with Loki for tricking me, but above all for saving me. It made me look pathetic back then! So we got into a fight again. Of course I scared the hell out of him!" she said with raised eyebrows and a huge grin playing on her lips.

"You should have seen Loki's face!" Fandral added in a loud whisper. Arya laughed and eagerly waited for the rest, but the sudden noise of a breaking twig, made them all look up. There was nothing there.

"Probably nothing…" Hogun said after a tense silence. He'd immediately jumped on his feet, ready to act. "I don't see anything anyway…"

Fandral sighed and relaxed again. He lay back, with his hand behind his head.

"You better keep a careful eye, Hogun… We are in an _evil_ forest after all! You never know when we get attacked by a bloodthirsty rabbit! Or worse! A little squirrel!"

Thor sighed, rolled his eyes and gestured Hogun to sit down again.

Fandral smiled. "Carry on, Sif! We were getting to the good part!"

Sif focused her attention back on the story and smiled.

"Right… Like I said: Loki was shitting his royal pants! I was cornering him! I kept asking why he'd rescued me. After all, he was supposed to disgust me! I'm not even sure I would have done the same thing if our fates were reversed. Right then, I really hated Loki. If I would have saved him, it would have been because he was a prince of Asgard."

"At one point, we decided to intervene, otherwise they would have killed each other after all…" Fandral added.

Sif nodded. "Yes, and Fandral thought it necessary to open his big mouth!"

Fandral grinned. "I said, and this is really exactly what I said: "Sif, my darling, just accept that Loki has been fooled by your beauty!""

Arya couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her eyes sprang from one person to the next, searching for a smile, a sign that they'd been playing with her.

Thor, Sif and Fandral were clearly trying hard not to burst out laughing.

"You should have seen his face!" Thor said.

"Red!" Sif added.

"Red?" Fandral shouted in response. "That was definitely purple!"

The three friend started laughing.

"No way!" Arya shouted, not able to keep herself from laughing too.

"Yes way…" Volstagg said with a sigh, watching his friends.

"Loki had a crush on Lady Sif?" Arya asked, just to make sure.

Sif nodded, tears streaming from her eyes, not able to say anything else.

"I did not!" an unexpected voice suddenly sounded. Everyone immediately turned quiet and jumped up, weapons ready. They all turned around to face the owner of the voice.

Loki walked into the light of the fire, looking angry and slightly blushing. "I did not!" he repeated.

* * *

**So... I hope you enjoyed it :) **

**Thank you for all the views and of course the wonderful reviews! You guys make my day! **

**Please let me know what you think!**

**Rumple x**


	35. Chapter 34

**Oy!**

**It's not much, but it'll have to do :) I hope you ENJOY it!**

* * *

_**Chapter 34**_

Jane paced around the room. Every now and then she threw an anxious look at her daughter's bedroom door. Frigga could wake up every second now and Jane still hadn't figured out the best way to tell her that Thor had left for a potentially dangerous and deadly quest. Thor had chosen not to tell Frigga because of the same reason he didn't want to say goodbye to his wife. A reason to come back… And if he didn't make it back to Asgard alive, at least she would only have happy memories of him and not of a heart breaking goodbye…

The worried mother glared at the clock which was slowly ticking the seconds away. It was almost ten o'clock… Jane closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. _Everything will be fine… _she thought. _Thor will come back!_

"Morning mummy…" a sudden tired voice sounded. Jane turned around a little to quickly, her daughter had startled her. With a dry mouth she watched Frigga, but the girl was still too sleepy to notice her mother's strange behaviour.

"What did Loki say?" she asked while jawing and stretching her arms above her head.

Jane forced herself to smile. She'd almost forgotten about Loki.

_Great! _she thought. _Another thing I'll have to explain!_

"Not much, really…" Jane lied. Frigga frowned but nodded.

"Where's dad…" she started, but her mother quickly interrupted.

"Why don't you dress, Frigga? Then we can have some breakfast. I'm starving!"

Frigga was surprised by her mother's reaction. Suddenly she felt right awake. Something was wrong and even though Frigga couldn't think of anything, she was sure it had to be bad.

The young girl swallowed, but nodded. Jane smiled back and quickly disappeared to her own room. She'd just realised she wasn't dressed herself. Telling her daughter she was starving while still wearing her pyjamas suddenly seemed even more unbelievable…

Frigga closed the door of her room and breathed out. Fear spread across her whole body. Within a second a hundred ideas of what could have gone wrong had sprang to her mind as always happened when she was scared. Was something wrong with Loki? Or were he parents still fighting? Where they scared of what she had done? Because Frigga remembered her mother being terrified when Loki had used his magic for the first times… Or maybe the situation in Vanaheim or Asgard was getting worse! Maybe they had to leave! And why did her mother interrupt when she wanted to ask about her father's whereabouts?

Ten minutes later, mother and daughter were ready to leave. Jane shut the door behind her and quickly led Frigga through the halls of Asgard. As usual guards and maidens that past by, bowed, greeting them with a smile, but neither Frigga nor Jane was aware of the attention.

Finally they reached the common room where breakfast was served for the highest ranks of the palace, but since Loki had ordered to ration the food they'd left, even their banquet wasn't any more filled then that of a lower rank Asgardian. The first thing Frigga noticed was the absence of Volstagg who always stayed until everybody else had had enough, to eat whatever was left. Fandral always accompanied his friend, but more to wink at every girl who entered. Frigga had grown used to shouting and fighting girls as entertainment in the morning. Yet, now even Asgard's biggest Casanova was missing from the table.

Frigga anxiously scanned the other seats, searching for Loki, even though she knew the young king was never here at this time of day. His busy schedule simply didn't allow that…

Jane saw her little girl searching for familiar faces. She swallowed and pretended not to notice. Without saying anything, Jane raced towards the big table displaying the little food Asgard had left. Frigga followed her lead and grabbed a plate of her own.

Jane picked two thin slices of bread, some cheese and an apple. Frigga quickly snatched the last pancake from the big plate in the middle of the table and followed her mother to two seats at the open window, looking over the rest of Asgard.

When both of them had sat down, Jane realised she really had to tell her daughter something. Frigga was sitting on the edge of her seat while the worst scenarios were racing through her mind, but what she was most scared of was the idea that her parents feared her powers…

"Frigga…" Jane started, still not entirely certain of how she was going to continue. The little girl looked up. She tried hard not show her fear for what would come.

"You probably already noticed that Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are not here today…"

Frigga gulped. So Sif and the others weren't on Asgard either? She nodded.

Jane continued while cutting the edges of her cheese, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Well… Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, Arya and daddy left this morning, really early, to go to Vanaheim…"

Jane went quiet and waited for her daughters reaction, but Frigga almost seemed relieved. The worried mother immediately felt guilty. She should have known Frigga would notice! Who knew what she had been expecting to hear!

Jane cleared her throat. "Loki send them on a quest to find out what happened to the missing army, to see if they can be rescued, to try to stop the bandit attacks and hopefully put an end to the hunger…"

Frigga turned a little pale. Even though she was too young to fully understand the real danger of the mission, she didn't feel that comfortable hearing all this.

"They'll be fine!" Jane immediately added, although she knew she was lying. How could she know that…

Frigga nodded uneasily. She suddenly wasn't so hungry any more. The idea that none of her newly made friends were close just didn't feel right.

Jane bid her lip. She wanted to say something that would make Frigga smile again.

"You know what…" the Jane started, forcing herself not to seem terrified, "After breakfast we'll visit Loki!"

As expected Frigga's eyes lit up and a new smile appeared. She suddenly seemed very interested in finding a way to eat her pancake as fast as possible…

-xxx-

Jane cautiously walked in the throne room. Now that Thor and the others were gone, she didn't expect any meeting, but you never knew with those four royal whiners…

Loki was standing at the enormous table which was filled with maps, books, dots … He was accompanied by the four royal advisers: Lord Argus and his younger brother Lord Atlas, Lord Gunnar and Lord Steldor with his golden hand.

When Loki heard footsteps getting closer, he turned around to face Jane with Frigga in her wake. Strangely enough his expression didn't change. Loki turned back to the table, blinked as if he had to think about what he was going to say and nodded.

"My Lords, if you would excuse me for a moment…"

The four advisers looked up and nodded.

Loki turned around, but again it seemed as if he had to think about every move…

Jane walked in with a smile. Frigga followed.

"I hope we're not disturbing anything…" the mother started, waiting for Loki to smile now that Frigga was here, but the smile never came. The young king just kept the same casual expression on his face. Frigga noticed it too and looked up at her mother, a questioning look covering her beautiful face. Maybe Loki was worried too… The little girl decided not to hug her uncle right away, he didn't really seemed in the mood.

"Not at all…" Loki said shortly in a monotone voice. "In fact, I wanted to talk to you!"

Jane smiled uneasily. Had something happened already? The worried mother felt as if a heavy stone had dropped in her stomach. If something had gone wrong, Loki wouldn't tell her while Frigga was around… right? Jane glared at the four men standing at the table. They didn't seem too worried… Yet, maybe they'd grown used to carrying bad news!

_Damn you, Jane! _she thought. _Don't be so pessimistic!_

Jane swallowed and waited for Loki to start walking around the throne room again. Normally the young king couldn't sit still, but now he just stood on the same spot, barely moving.

"What I am going to say, might be a little uncomfortable…" Loki started.

Jane frowned. What was going on? She took a better look at Loki. A weird feeling took hold of her. There was something not right, but she couldn't quiet put her finger on it.

"But you have to understand that I simply can't hold this any longer…" Loki continued. Jane wasn't following. Her eyes searched Loki's body and his surroundings. Was she imagining it, or was Loki barely breathing? And was he blinking in the right way?

"You probably will call me a brat… you will hate me and think me irresponsible…"

Was she just imagining it, or was Loki really surrounded with a weird kind of greenish force field?

"Which I am, to be honest!" the young king concluded.

Now the four advisers started frowning as well. They didn't understand what was going on either.

"But I am simply so bored!" Loki continued in the same monotone voice.

Pieces were starting to find their place in Jane's head. A mixture of panic and fear filled her body. Frigga, who was standing next to her was starting to notice something was wrong as well. Better than anybody else, she could feel the strong aura of magic in the room, but she didn't fully understand where it came from.

"L…Loki!" Jane stuttered, but the young king ignored her.

"Don't worry, Jane. With my help they'll be back in no time!"

"Loki!" Jane shouted. "You simply cannot do this!"

Loki went on, completely ignoring Jane. The young king's image started to flicker.

"I command you not to send any patrols to Vanaheim. You need all forces on Asgard!"

"Loki! You can't do this!" Jane repeated, sounding almost desperately. The dour advisers started to see the picture and joined Jane.

"My king, please return! We need you here! It is too dangerous" Lord Gunnar tried.

Loki didn't pay attention to the four men and fixed his attention back on Jane.

"I leave Asgard in your hands, Jane Foster!" Loki continued while his images started fading. "The Royal Advisers have to follow your every order and they will assist you in every decision!"

Jane looked at the young king in awe. A weird mixture of fear, anger, confusion, loneliness and disbelief made her shut up.

"Good luck! And remember that you are lucky! The weather is dreadful down here!"

With that said Loki managed to smile after all. He locked his eyes with Frigga's for one second, winked and without warning the illusion finally dissolved, leaving behind a perplexed Jane, her awe-struck daughter and four men who couldn't believe their eyes.

It stayed silent for a while.

"Mummy…" a sudden shaking voice broke the silence. Jane looked down on her daughter with a dry mouth. Her heart was racing at a hundred miles an hour.

Frigga swallowed. "Mummy…" she repeated with a sudden mixture of disbelief and excitement colouring her sparkling blue eyes.

"You're the Queen of Asgard!"

* * *

**I hope you liked it! **

**Unfortunately, I'll have to disappoint you (and myself) :( Christmas exams are coming up, so I'll have to put my writing on hold :(**

**If anyone of you is suffering the same hell as I am, GOOD LUCK! WE'LL GET THROUGH!**

**And for those who do not... (Lucky bastards! :) ) You'll have lots of time to read (and review? hint! hint!) ;D**

**I won't forget you guys! **

**Let me know what you think!**

**Rumple x**


	36. Chapter 35

**HI! Exams are almost over, but until then, you'll have to do with this ;)**

**Hope you ENJOY it!**

* * *

_**C****hapter 35**_

Everybody stared at Loki who had just appeared out of thin air. The young king grinned, but couldn't fully hide the blush on his cheeks.

"I absolutely did not have a crush on Sif!" he assured the others, but no one seemed to care any more. Suddenly Arya realised her king had just joined them. She instantly got to her feet and bowed.

"Lo… My king!" she stuttered. "My apologies, I didn't mean to laugh with…"

Loki made a short gesture with his hand. "Sit down, Arya…" he said more rudely then he meant.

The young warrior swallowed and quickly obeyed. The others didn't seem to be as scared as her. Didn't they realise they'd just made fun of their king!

"Loki!" Thor eventually managed.

Loki smiled. "You don't say!" he said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here?" Sif asked harshly.

Loki pulled up his eyebrows. "Oh, come on, do you seriously think Fandral is capable of making fire?"

Fandral wanted to defend himself, until he realised what Loki was saying.

"You've been here all this time?" he asked. Loki smiled shortly.

"You burned my beautiful _façade_!" Fandral shouted.

Thor shook his head. "Wait…" he said, not really following.

"Am I going to fast, brother?" Loki asked nonchalantly, but Thor ignored him.

"You mean to say that you've been with us ever since we left Asgard…"

"Yes…" Loki slowly answered.

"You left Asgard without a king and without any proper warrior to defend it…"

Loki nodded. "That's about it!" he said grinning widely. Everybody stared at him in disbelief.

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!" Thor suddenly roared.

Loki sighed, but that only made Thor more angry. "WHY! WHY IN ODIN'S NAME WOULD YOU DO THAT!"

Loki smiled. His light grey eyes flickered for a moment.

"Isn't that obvious, brother… I am bored!" he simply said.

"Bored?" Volstagg asked.

"To death!" Loki confirmed.

"You don't have a Captain!" Sif joined in angrily. "No one to leave in charge!"

"Wrong!" Loki shouted. "I left Jane in charge!"

If possible everybody got even more quiet.

"You what?" Thor asked in an angry whisper which send shivers down everyone's spine. Yet Loki didn't seem that impressed.

"Thor! If I'm going too fast for your little brains, you just have to ask!" Loki said sarcastically.

Thor turned red. He needed all his willpower not to throw Mjölnir towards Loki's playful grin.

"You. Left. Jane. In charge. Of. Asgard?" the God of Thunder asked, spitting out every word. Loki didn't move a muscle.

"Doubting your beloved wife?" he asked.

Sif interrupted. "You can't just leave her to be Queen!"

"Indeed!" Volstagg joined in. "Jane can't possibly rule a kingdom!"

Now even Hogun opened his mouth. "You left the care of the nine realms in the hands of a mortal!"

"A mother!" Loki interrupted. Silence fell. Loki looked from one person to the other, making sure he had everyone's attention.

"I left Asgard and the other realms in the hands of a mother!" he repeated. "I am not making the mistake of leaving an Asgardian lunatic in charge, again. A mother understands sacrifice, but also care towards others better than anyone else! Jane will never use her power for bad purposes, like the Captain did."

Loki didn't notice Arya getting really uncomfortable.

"Exactly!" Sif answered. "Because she doesn't understand what kind of power she's dealing with!"

Loki grinned. "On the contrary, a scientist knows power when she sees it, but understands the dangers it brings…"

No one seemed to be able to say something more, except of course…

"I think she can do it…"

All eyes turned to Fandral. Yet he didn't seem impressed and nonchalantly pulled up his shoulders.

"Loki has a point, right?" he continued. "When the Allfather had to leave he also left Queen Frigga in charge. I must say that a mother is an extraordinary leader…"

Thor couldn't help to beam with proud. Not only was Fandral praising his mother, he was also comparing Jane with Frigga. Nevertheless, he still wasn't convinced. His mother had had years and years of experience. Jane had never ruled alongside a king, let alone been in charge herself. And on top of that, she was a mortal! Would the Asgardians be prepared to take orders from her?

"Lord Fandral is right!" Arya suddenly joined in. "Lady Jane is more than capable of being a leader, but not only because she is a mother. She told me, some time ago, she used to lead research back on Midgard. She even had some kind of errr… servants…. Interns, I believe she called them. Nevertheless, I am sure she is the best choice. Jane is brave, just and kind. Exactly what Asgard needs, especially in times like this."

Everybody turned quiet and stared at the young warrior. Even Loki had to admit he was impressed. Maybe he needed to ask Arya's counsel more often. After all, she stood closer to the common people of Asgard. She knew better than anyone else what was required.

"Indeed LORD Fandral is right! Everybody listen to LORD Fandral!" Fandral suddenly exclaimed, making everybody roll their eyes, not that it bothered him…

Loki put on his most innocent smile possible and looked from one person to the next, but everybody was waiting for Thor's judgement.

The God of Thunder sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't suppose asking Heimdall to send you back is going to help?" he asked.

"Not a chance!" Loki answered enthusiastically.

Thor shared a look with his friends. What could he do?

"All right then…" he finally said, even though Thor knew that whatever his opinion had been, Loki would have ignored it.

Sif sighed. "So he's staying?" she asked harshly.

"I missed you too Sif…" Loki answered, but the female warrior wasn't amused. She pointed at Loki.

"I am supposed to take order from him now?" she asked Thor. Her friend wanted to answer, but Loki was first.

"You have to follow my orders at all times, my lady Sif, that's one of the perks of being king!" the young king answered.

Sif opened her mouth to argue, but Thor threw her a meaningful look and she decided to keep silent. Yet, the dark look in her eyes said enough.

"You didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun on your own, did you?" Loki continued, pretending not to notice Sif's angry stares. The young king grinned widely.

"And besides, you are just worthless without me!"

-xxx-

The night grew darker, but no one seemed to be able to catch some sleep. At one point, Loki had decided to give up trying and go for a walk. Of course he couldn't exactly go far and he didn't feel like turning himself invisible just to have a late-night stroll, so the young king sank down on a boulder, just outside their camp.

Loki supposed he had lots to be worried about, but strangely enough his head seemed to be at peace. No anxious thoughts, no fears, no stress… In fact, Loki was quite satisfied with the situation. Finally he didn't have to endure endless speeches, disappointing news and boring days locked up inside his throne room. The excitement about the mission, mixed with the boost of adrenaline made him feel better than ever. How great it was to be outside again!

A familiar shadow fell over the young king's body. Thor was standing right next to him.

"Problems?" he asked. Loki shook his head, trying to make it clear he wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, Thor didn't understand the hint. And set down next to his brother.

"So how long have you been with us exactly?" Thor asked after a short silence.

Loki sighed. "I travelled along with the Bifröst. Heimdall noticed, but luckily he kept his opinion for himself this time."

"So … Did you tell anyone you were going? The Lords, maybe? They couldn't possibly have agreed with this?"

A wide grin appeared on Loki's face. "I left an illusion. A quite strong one, actually. He could move, talk... He stayed long enough to tell the Lords what to do, all very subtle of course, and to freak Jane out."

Thor had to admit he was impressed. He didn't know much about magic, but he understood that this kind of magic was strong. His mother had been right. Loki was a remarkable and powerful sorcerer indeed.

"And when exactly did your illusion… eerrr… leave?" Thor asked.

"Around the time Arya and Sif got back. It's pretty tiring you know, especially if I want to keep up a second illusion as well."

"Did you find something?" Thor continued. "I mean when we split up? Or did you go with someone else?"

Loki turned silent. "I went with Arya" he eventually declared. "Just in case something would go wrong…"

"Which happened…" Thor added. Loki scowled.

"I wasn't exactly around when hell broke loose. I mean, Sif was there! I didn't think they would get in trouble like that. I went down in the hole, just like Sif, but being invisible has it's advantages. I got way further than Sif did."

"What did you discover?" Thor asked. A flash of fear darkened Loki's eyes, but it happened so quickly that Thor decided it must have been a shadow.

"I'm not quite sure…" Loki finally said. "What I did see, and what Sif also discovered is that these bandits have built an entire complex down there, almost a town on its own."

Thor nodded. "Yes, she said that. The perfect hideout!"

Loki nodded in agreement. "They've got everything they need. Weapons by dozens, food from the villages, water from the river… I believe I found the… main building, the headquarters… I sneaked in and I followed a conversation between two bandits. They were talking about the prisoners too. The thing is… I think…"

Loki hesitated. Fear was building up inside him, but the young king refused to give in. He hadn't even been inside the room!

"What?" Thor asked.

"I think…" Loki repeated. "I recognised the voice of one of them…"

Thor turned silent. "Who do you think it was?"

Loki shook his head. "I don't know… I didn't see them…"

"Did you find any prisoners?" Thor asked, knowing that was the most important right now, but his brother shook his head again.

"No, I didn't even follow the whole conversation, because suddenly every bandit raced to the exits. Arya was under attack, so I had to go back… I fought off some of them, down the hole where Sif was climbing to give her a chance. And I slowed Arya's fall when she fell into the pit. Otherwise she would be a pancake right now…"

Thor smiled. Loki was saving lives again. Just like the old days…

"Maybe you should tell them that. Sif might start trusting you again…"

Loki smirked. "Telling Sif I rescued her? You must want me dead, brother!"

Thor smiled and got to his feet. "No, brother… that doesn't work on you…"

Loki grinned widely.

"Try to get some sleep…" Thor eventually added before walking back towards the fire.

Loki rubbed his eyes. He really was tired! The young king took a deep breath. Now that Thor was finally gone, he let his fear go its way. A cold shiver ran over his spine while Loki tried to calm down. In his head echoed the cold and terrifying voice he'd heard while eavesdropping. In fact, Loki hadn't been completely honest with his brother. He knew better than anyone who that voice had belonged to.

The young king closed his eyes. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea coming here… After all, Loki had followed the bandits conversation better than Thor believed. A conversation about prisoners and fighters, about stealing and payment, but above all… about Loki.

* * *

**I know it's not much, but more will come! :)**

**Please review and thank you for reading so far :)**

**Rumple x**


	37. Chapter 36

**So... I am proud to tell you... I ACTUALLY, OFFICIALLY, (AMAZINGLY ;p****) PAST MY EXAMS! Just thought I let you know... ;)**

**Anyway, I hope I didn't let you wait too long... ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 36**_

At the peep of day, Loki ordered to break up camp and leave. Although no one had slept more than a few hours, everybody was right awake and ready for some action. Loki had filled the others in on his findings and had explained his plan. It was rather simple, really. The moment they would leave the safe shelter of the trees, Loki would put an illusion on them, allowing them to be invisible. After some discussion, Loki had followed Thor's advice to leave someone behind in case of emergency. Normally that wasn't necessary since Heimdall could follow them wherever they went, but with the mysterious invisibility of the bandit's hideout, that option failed. Hogun volunteered to stay behind. If his friends hadn't returned within two days, he was allowed to call for help and reinforcements.

"We'll use the cave Sif and Arya discovered as a pit stop…" Loki informed the others. "Otherwise I won't be able to keep up the illusion all day. I need to rest!"

Thor nodded understandingly. He knew this was serious. Loki wouldn't have expressed a weakness like that if it wasn't.

"But what if the bandits already closed that cave? I mean, they knew we were there, I suppose they searched their surroundings. Maybe they found it…" Arya said.

Sif nodded.  
"Arya's right. We could be walking into a trap" she added. Yet, Loki only smiled.

"Trust me Sif, I assure you that the cave is still safe and sound."

Sif frowned, but sighed. She really wasn't in the mood to start arguing with Loki. Arya didn't understand either, but decided not to question her king.

"Anyway," Loki continued. "On my search I found another entrance. I believe the bandits might have taken precautions now that they know we are here. Therefore, we can't use the same entrance as yesterday."

"Would you mind sharing the whereabouts of your super-secret entrance with us?" Sif asked impatiently, but Loki only grinned.

"You'll find out soon enough, my lady Sif…" he said. Sif took a deep breath. Loki was getting on her nerves, but she knew he was doing this on purpose, so she smiled a fake smile back.

"Of course, _my king…_" she said sarcastically. Thor threw her a warning glare.

Fandral on the other hand seemed to enjoy the conversation.

"All right, enough talking!" Loki suddenly concluded. "Rules are simple!" he started while walking to the edge of the small forest. "No sound, no fighting, no running off. In short, you don't do anything without my permission!"

Arya nodded. "Understood, my king!" she said. Loki smiled, as did everyone else. Once they'd all gathered in the shadows of the last trees, Loki closed his eyes and concentrated. For a second a greenish glimmer covered all six of them. Loki opened his eyes again and stepped into the morning sunlight. The young king looked at the reflection in a big pool on the ground. He didn't see anything but the bright blue sky. The illusion was working splendidly!

"How is it that we can still see each other?" Arya asked cautiously.

Loki turned around. "It's an illusion!" he said. "Like a blanket… Turning all of us invisible would not only be extremely tiring, but also pretty useless. How could we follow each other without seeing each other?"

Arya could hit herself. How could she be so stupid! A red blush spread across the young girl's cheeks.

"Of… of course, my king…" she stuttered.

Luckily Loki turned around and started walking towards the bandit's hide out. Arya had never felt so embarrassed. A sudden hand made her look up. Sif stood behind the young warrior and smiled.

"Don't worry, Arya. Believe me, he enjoys being the smart guy!"

Arya smiled uneasily.

"And go easy on the 'my king' business." Sif added with a grin. Arya frowned.

"But… but he is the king!"

Sif laughed and hit Arya's shoulder before following the others.

-xxx-

The group walked for about an hour before the river came in sight. Without the rain they could see it curl through the landscape and disappear in the distant dark mountains. Sif led the way towards the cave, but she just didn't seem to be able to find it. The female warrior kept on walking around the same spot. She had been certain it was here!

Loki watched the frustrated warrior in amusement. After ten minutes of searching lady Sif finally decided she wouldn't find it. Looking more angry than ever, she turned around and joined her friends again. She threw an angry glare at Loki and Fandral who were clearly enjoying the situation.

"I'm certain it was around here somewhere!" she said harshly. "Right Arya?"

The young warrior seemed to hesitate. She wasn't quite sure. After all, Sif had dragged her towards the cave. In the rain, she hadn't exactly had the chance to observe her surroundings and to be honest, Arya's orientation skills were a bit rusty…

Arya looked around, but everything seemed so alike. "I suppose it could have been…" she eventually declared. Sif sighed and Arya knew she had messed up once more.

Loki sighed and smiled. "You would think that after all these years spend at my side, at least one of you would have taught himself how to see through an illusion?" the young king said. Everyone looked up at him. Loki's eyes flickered while he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. It wasn't exactly necessary, but it just gave magic a nice ring. Immediately the dark entrance of the cave appeared right next to them. Loki raised his eyebrows.

"Told you it was safe and sound!" he said with a grin before walking towards the cave.

Once everyone was inside, Sif couldn't take it any more.

"I've had enough of this!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the cave. "I won't let you make a fool out of me!"

Loki didn't seem impressed. He breathed out. An almost invisible green shimmer lit up the cave before disappearing in the air. The young king sank down against the wall and closed his eyes. The amount of magic he'd used during the last days had taken its toll. The lack of a good meal didn't really help either.

"Honestly, Sif…" Loki answered with a sigh without opening his eyes. "You're doing a fine job yourself…"

That was the last drop for Sif. The furious warrior drew her sword and pointed down at the young king. Loki didn't move a muscle.

"Fight me, Loki! Then we'll see who has the last laugh!"

The God of Mischief still didn't move until the sudden sound of a sword hitting another sword sounded through the cave.

Loki opened his eyes in surprise. He half expected Fandral to be defending him, but that was just as impossible as it sounded.

The young king looked up. Right next to him stood Arya, holding her knife in front of Loki, protecting him from Sif's attack.

"What are you doing!" Sif exclaimed. She couldn't believe Arya was choosing Loki's side, especially after the friendship she'd shown towards the young warrior.

"I am protecting my king!" Arya answered without any expression.

Sif clenched her teeth together. "Your king?" she shouted. "Can't you see that he's an annoying, lying, little brat!"

"Sif…" Thor interrupted, but the female warrior was too angry to listen.

"You're constantly kissing his feet, Arya! Can't you see he's taking advantage of you?"

Arya frowned, feeling offended. "I am only doing what is right!" she suddenly shouted angrily.

"Really?" Sif yelled back. "You're only protecting him because you are afraid! Because you believe him to be a king!"

"That is hardly significant!" Arya screamed. For a second she had forgotten who she was talking to, but in fact, she couldn't care less. No one accused her of being a wacky servant!

"King or no king! I doesn't matter! Right now we need everyone here! We are the only good trained warriors Asgard has left! You of all people should understand what that means! Killing each other is not going to help! So stop playing around and put your energy into what really matters! We have to find the lost army and stop these bandits!"

Everyone turned silent and stared at Arya. Even Sif forgot to be angry.

"Eeer… not that I don't agree with you, Arya, but could you be so kind to stop pointing your knife at me?" Loki suddenly said. Arya looked down and saw how, in her anger, she had been waving around her knife in front of Loki's face, almost sticking his eyes out. From one second to the next, she realised what she had done and stumbled back.

"I… I… I didn't mean to… to be… I…" she stuttered, looking around the cave. Arya swallowed. She could feel tears well up in her eyes, but she refused to give in. Her eyes met Sif's. The female warrior seemed to be taken by surprise.

Loki got to his feet, expecting Sif to attack Arya, but nothing happened.

"You're right…" Sif finally admitted, sounding almost surprised. "Of course you are..."

Arya waited. She still wasn't entirely certain about her chances.

Loki raised his eyebrows, but quickly smiled. "Apologies excepted!" he said sarcastically.

Thor groaned while Sif turned to Loki again.

"I'm still not done with you, serpent!"

Loki laughed. "Serpent? That's a new one!"

Thor stepped in between Sif and his brother before the two of them could start fighting again.

"All right! Why don't we try being nice to each other? Just until we are back on Asgard and everything is fine again. Then you two can fight each other as much as you desire!"

Thor looked both of them straight in the eye to make sure they understood that they were acting like children.

Loki grinned. "I don't know where you get these awful ideas, brother! Me? Killing someone?"

Thor threw Loki a meaningful glare until the young king rolled his eyes and sighed.

"All right!" he said harshly. "But if Sif would just except me being king, this would not be necessary!"

Sif smirked. "Not in a million years!" she said before putting her sword away and turning her back on Loki.

-xxx-

Thor decided to stay a little longer than planned to make sure everyone had calmed down a bit. He knew better than to go into a fight while two of his team were trying to kill each other in the process.

Loki was standing at the entrance of the cave, staring into the distance. A deep frown scarred his forehead. The young king seemed to be lost in thoughts. Thor hesitated to start talking, but he knew this look. Loki was up to something. He knew something Thor didn't. So The God of Thunder walked over to his brother, cursing himself in his mind. If Loki didn't want to be disturbed, this would only make things worse.

"What's bothering you, brother?" Thor asked. Loki looked aside. A sudden look of confusion coloured his light grey eyes. He'd been far, far away.

The young king focused back on the dark mountains which were rising in the distance. He vaguely shook his head.

"Nothing…"

Thor waited patiently. Eventually Loki turned back to him.

"I might have found an explanation for the invisibility mystery of our friends over there…" the young started with a scowl, gesturing to the river.

Thor followed his gaze. Loki was staring at the mountains with an almost angry look on his face.

"All right…" The God Of Thunder said. "That's nice…"

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. "I've been such a fool! How could I miss that!"

Thor wasn't following. "Maybe if you told me the problem, I could help you…" he suggested.

The young king rubbed his forehead. "Dark Elves, Thor!"

Thor frowned. "You mean there're dark elves among the bandits?"

Loki stared at his brother as if he'd just asked him what colour the sky was.

"Don't you know anything, Thor!" Loki exclaimed. Thor forced himself not to get angry at him. He knew his brother was annoyed by something.

Loki sighed once more. "Dark Elf technology, Thor!" he said pointing at the dark, gloomy mountains. "After the attack on Asgard, all crashed Dark Elf ships were dumped in those mountains."

Thor slowly nodded. He hadn't know that. "Okay… but what has that to do with the invisibility of the bandits?"

Loki looked at his brother in disbelief. "Malekith used a unique mixture of technology and magic to hide his ships!" he explained.

"Yes…" Thor confirmed. "Heimdall couldn't see them…"

Loki nodded. "Magic is not something you can control so easily to combine it with technology. It's a power on its own! Sooner or later it will go its own way…"

The young king looked back at Thor and pulled up his eyebrows as in saying… "now you understand?", but Thor was still not completely following.

"It's in the river, Thor!" Loki finally said.

"What' s in the river?"

Loki groaned. "The magic, you idiot!"

Thor thought about that for a moment and shook his head. "How could it get into the water?" he asked.

Loki raised his arm again, pointing at the river. While he spoke he slowly followed the sparkling line all the way back to the dark mountains.

"The river flows through the Dark Mountains. Odin must have dumped the ships somewhere near it. The wreckages got buried – by earthquakes, who knows – and the magic found the fastest way out, through the water! The river flows over the bandit's hideout, the magic makes them completely invisible!"

Thor repeated Loki's explanation a couple of times in his head.

"But how is it possible that we can see it then? Shouldn't it be invisible for us too?"

Loki nodded. Finally Thor was asking the right questions!

"I suppose the magic is not concentrated enough. We can see through it, but from a distance it's as good as undetectable."

Thor nodded. He wanted to ask another question, but Loki had already fixed his gaze back on the river, mumbling angrily to himself.

"It's not your fault, Loki…" Thor said after a short silence. "You couldn't have known Odin had dumped them near the river…"

Loki shook his head. "I should have thought about it!"

Thor sighed. "Could it harm us? Or bring the mission in danger?"

"No, no…" Loki answered vaguely. "Of course not…"

"In that case, we better get a move on…"

-xxx-

"Can't we move a bit faster?"

"Sif!"

"Unless you want to risk getting seen... Of course!"

"Loki!"

"Well, that almost sounds inviting!"

"Sif!"

"Oh really? I make sure you get a warm welcome then!"

"Loki!"

"How sweet!"

"Sif!"

"You know me…"

"Loki, please!"

"I wish I didn't know you!"

"SIF!"

Loki turned towards his brother.

"Thor, seriously, could you shout a bit louder?" he asked sarcastically. "I don't think you gave us away yet!"

The God of Thunder took a deep breath. "Maybe if you two stopped acting like children, I wouldn't have to shout at all!"

"He can't help it, Thor. Loki lacks attention!"

"Sif! In Odin's name!"

Thor unexpectedly came to a halt, making Fandral and Arya bump into him. He looked around. They were walking somewhere in between the cave and the river. Loki in front, Volstagg and Thor behind him, then Sif, and Arya and Fandral closed the company.

"All right!" the God of Thunder started. "I suggest: Sif, you take the back, Loki you stay in front. You two have to learn to work together!"

Loki and Sif threw each other a murderous glare before separating.

"The first one who opens his mouth, can go back to Asgard! Is that understood!"

"Remember who you're talking too, brother!" Loki warned.

Thor turned to the young king. He needed all his willpower to keep himself from hitting Loki to the other end of the universe.

"Right now, I seem to be talking to my little brother. My very, very little brother!"

Loki's eyes narrowed. "You know, I could just drop the illusion and continue myself! I'm sure they have a nice spot for the prince of Asgard!"

"Loki, I'm warning you!"

"Guys…" Arya's voice softly interrupted.

"No, _brother_, I'm warning you! You better have care how you speak!"

"My prince…."

"Not now Arya!" Thor responded.

"But…" Fandral joined in.

"Just shut up and keep moving, Loki!" Thor continued, ignoring his friend.

Loki laughed. "Maybe I will! Alone!"

"If you drop the illusion, you get us all killed!"

"Is that a suggestion?"

"Guys!" Arya shouted. "Shut it!"

The two brothers turned to Arya, ready to shout she had to stay out of it, but both men immediately turned silent when they saw Arya readying her bow. Fandral stood at her side, sword ready. Volstagg and Sif also drew their weapons. Everyone turned around to face the spot Arya and Fandral had been staring at. About two hundred meters further, two bandits were looking their way. Slowly one of them moved closer, his spear held in front of him.

Loki swallowed and cautiously let a dagger slip in his palm. In his anger, he'd completely forgotten he had to be silent. The two bandits probably had been patrolling along the river when they'd heard something coming out of nowhere.

"Nobody move a muscle…" the young king whispered.

The bandit, more wolf than man, came closer. His yellow eyes searched every inch of the ground. His big hairy nose sniffed the air. An evil grin, revealing a set of yellow, sharp looking teeth, formed on his fat pink lips.

"I know you are there…" he said in a loud whisper while moving closer and closer until he was standing right in front of Thor and Loki.

The two brothers shared a look. Thor gestured backwards with his head. Loki nodded. Slowly, without dropping their weapons, all six of them started moving back.

The bandit's grin got even wider.

"Oh, where are you going, you just got here! Let's have some fun first, shall we…"

For one sickening moment, the bandit's yellow eyes locked on Loki's, although it was impossible he could see them. The young king shivered and came to a halt. He had to think quickly. The bandit moved closer again.

The young king licked his lips. He had a plan, if you could call it that…. It was risky, but what else could they do? Even if they managed to outrun this wolfguy, he would still inform his fellow bandits he'd found some intruders.

Loki turned towards Arya and gestured to the second bandit who was still waiting at the river bank. Arya nodded and cautiously tightened her bow while aiming for the second bandit. Loki turned back towards the wolfguy. He shared a look with Thor, who nodded and silently dropped Mjölnir. The young king took a deep breath and waited until the bandit was closer. Three steps… two steps… one…

With one swift move Thor grabbed the bandit's spear and pulled him towards the group. From the moment the wolfguy entered the illusion, he also turned invisible. His companion at the river was taken by surprise which gave Arya just enough time to loose an arrow. Before the bandit could do as much as shout, the black arrow buried itself in his chest.

In the meantime Loki had grabbed the wolfguy from behind and with a one swift move he snapped the bandit's neck. Both bandits sank lifeless to the ground.

For a couple of seconds nobody moved nor spoke. They just stared at the still body of the wolfguy at their feet.

Loki sniffed and tried to smile. "Good shot, Arya…" he said.

The young warrior vaguely smiled. She didn't exactly enjoy shooting defenceless people, not even bandits like these. That man hadn't even got a chance to defend himself.

"Let's get going…." Thor suddenly said while picking up Mjölnir. Sif looked up.

"We can't just leave him here, lying in the open! And that counts for him too!" she said while pointing at the body lying at the riverbank.

Everyone turned silent, over-thinking the situation.

"Maybe the Bifröst can collect them…" Fandral suggested.

"Yes, because that doesn't attract any attention!" Sif answered harshly.

Thor tried to ignore both warriors and turned towards Loki. "Can't you hide them?" he asked.

"Damn it, Thor. I can't turn anything invisible, I make it _look_ invisible! I can't keep up ten different illusion's all day!"

Thor nodded. He really didn't feel like arguing with Loki.

"Then we need to move them…" Volstagg joined in.

"Where?" Sif asked.

Volstagg turned towards the female warrior. "To the cave! It's the only solution!"

Thor and Loki seemed to think over the idea. In fact it didn't matter if it was really the only solution. They were running out of time!

"All right!" Loki said. "But we can't go back, not all of us anyway!"

"One of us will have to do it by himself…" Thor concluded. "Who's going!"

"Sif!" Loki immediately suggested. The female warrior threw him a poisonous glare.

"As much as would like to… I cannot carry two body's on my own!"

Thor nodded, while warning Loki not to respond. "Indeed, I will go then…"

Loki immediately wanted to argue, not because he was scared, but because he had to admit that having Mjölnir around was quite useful, but Volstagg was first.

"No, Thor. I will go! I lack years of training and ... well… to be completely honest, I'm not really keen to keep those two from ripping each other to pieces..." he said with a grin.

Sif and Loki rolled their eyes. Yet Thor couldn't keep a smile of his face.

"Fair enough… you shall go… be careful, my friend."

Volstagg smiled and turned towards Loki.

"A cover would come in very handy…" he said, trying his best not to show any hatred towards the young king.

Loki sighed. "All right, but you only have one hour! After that, I drop the illusion on you!"

Volstagg nodded. "Thank you, my… my king…"

Loki smirked. Volstagg quickly turned around.

Twenty minutes later, the Asgardian warrior had thrown both bodies over his shoulder and left. The moment he left the cover of Loki's illusion, he turned invisible himself.

Now it was only Loki, Thor, Sif, Fandral and Arya left.

Thor looked around. "Now... " he started while fixing his eyes with Loki and Sif. "Same rules, no talking!"

Loki smiled shortly and turned his back on the rest, before continuing their invisible journey.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! **

**I would like to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS and of course a HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**Please, let me know what you think! :)**

**Rumple x**


	38. Chapter 37

**Ho Ho Ho! (Sorry couldn't help myself...)**

**So how was Christmas? I got an fresh chapter for you, guys! I hope I didn't let you wait too long...**

**Anyway, I hope you'll ENJOY it and at the end of this chapter, you'll find a little Christmas present from me guys! (Yes, I do realise you can all just scroll down and ignore the while chapter... Err... What can I do about that? Eeer... don't scroll all the way down?:P)**

* * *

_**Chapter 37**_

"You can't be serious!"

Everyone looked at Fandral who had come to a halt.

"There is no other safe way in, Fandral!" Loki sighed.

"Are you sure…"

Thor groaned and looked at Loki. The young king smiled impatiently.

"You're free to go searching another entrance, but you'll have to do but without cover then…."

"But these are the sewers!" Fandral exclaimed. Everyone sighed. They were running out of time!

Arya looked down at the water reservoir beneath them. She had to admit she wasn't very keen either to go through it.

"This is the only unguarded entrance!" Thor said following Loki on the small, steep pat towards the water reservoir. With every step, the stench got worse.

After what seemed ages they finally reached the bottom. On their right, they saw the stinking, black water reservoir, on their left was a high stone wall. It seemed this basin had been carved out by the water over the years, but now the bandits used it as their final sewer stage. The only thing separating the water reservoir from the wall was a small path, obviously carved out in the wall by men.

Sif groaned behind her elbow she'd raised in front of her face in an attempt to block out the stench.

"Why would they need sewers anyway!" she moaned. Loki turned towards her.

"Blacksmiths…." he answered. "They got whole buildings full of them. I suppose they make their own weapons… They use tons of water… it needs to go somewhere"

Sif nodded while trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. This smell was burning her eyeballs out!

"But to be honest…" Loki continued. "I think it's also a good sign! The sewers, I mean."

Thor frowned.

"This might mean that our army is imprisoned and not dead! Everything they ... errr... _do_, needs to go somewhere too…" Loki answered with a smile before turning back towards the dark tunnel at the end of the water reservoir.

"That doesn't really make me feel any better!" Fandral shouted behind his elbow.

Loki ignored him and inspected the path in front of him. It seemed safe enough….

"All right!" he started. "Everyone stay in one row. Move carefully!"

With that said Loki started walking towards the tunnel.

Once they'd arrived there, the company came to a tunnel was pitch black.

"We can't see a thing in there…" Arya said. "Unless of course, somebody brought torches…"

Everyone looked at Loki as if he should have thought about that, but the young king ignored their stares.

"I suggest I drop the illusion and create some light…"

"Can't you keep us invisible AND get us some light?" Sif asked, ignoring Thor's angry stares.

Loki smiled shortly.

"Yes, lady Sif, I could do that, but what difference would it make if they would discover us and see a floating light or a group intruders and a floating light…. We would be caught either way and I'm not going to tire myself if it's not necessary!"

Thor sighed and threw his brother an accusing glare, but the young king didn't bother.

"Same rules!" he concluded. "And be careful where you put your feet!"

A short green glimmer lit up the dark tunnel. The illusion dropped and a three balls of bright, light green light appeared. Cautiously, Loki led the way further into the tunnel. On their right they followed the dark stinking sewer.

Luckily everything went fine. Not once they were interrupted by guards. After at least two hours of walking in the dark, Loki finally spotted some light at the end of the tunnel.

The young king lifted his hand and everyone stopped in their tracks. The floating lights slowly faded and darkness dissolved the five warriors. Loki carefully made his way to the end of the tunnel. A green glimmer indicated that he'd put the invisibility illusion back in place. The young king cautiously peeped around the corner, checking both sides of the hall they'd entered. Empty…

Slowly the others joined him in the hall. The walls were made out of pure rock and dirt. Some of these corridors must have been carved by nature, some by hand. In the ceiling they saw several holes, through which they could see the blue sky. Warm sunbeams fell in light circles on the floor. Everyone took a deep breath. After spending two hours in a rotten, dark sewer, they'd almost missed the sunlight.

"So…." Thor started in a whisper. "Which way?"

Loki pointed to their right. "That's the way to the headquarters. If we want to find the prisoners, I suggest we start there…"

Thor nodded and wanted to start walking, but Loki stopped him.

"Everyone be silent!" the young king whispered. "No fighting, even if you think we might be in danger. These halls are a labyrinth. If we start running around here or split up, we will get lost! And try to stay out of the light. It's not because we are invisible that we don't have a shadow. With all these sunbeams, I can't control every single shadow you make!"

Everyone nodded. Loki nodded back and started walking.

-xxx-

Sif swallowed. She looked around while a new shiver ran down her spine. Something was not right! She checked the other faces, but no one seemed to share her concern. Everyone was just staring at the rickety building in the centre of the enormous open square in front of them.

"There is no way we can all get over there without being spotted!" Fandral whispered next to her.

"Indeed! There's too much sunlight!" Arya added.

"I know!" Loki answered, sounding irritated. "I can't help it that the sun is actually shining today!"

Sif looked up. There was barely a ceiling above the square. Sunlight streamed in from every direction.

"So what do we do?" Thor asked. "We can't hide behind these boxes for ever…"

Sif sighed and turned towards Loki. "I thought you had a plan!" she hissed between her teeth. The young king smirked and answered: "I have a plan!"

"Well unless your plan involves hiding behind some supply boxes all day, I suggest you get on with it!"

Thor threw Sif a meaningful look and hit Loki on his shoulder, warning him not to answer.

"Maybe it's best if we split up…" Fandral suggested, but Loki shook his head.

"If we get caught, we will need all forces we've got."

"All right, but how do we get there then?" Fandral asked, pointing towards the building.

"Maybe we just have to give it a shot…" Arya joined in. "I mean, they might not see us…"

Loki considered that idea, until Thor suddenly touched his shoulder and pointed behind them towards the tunnel they'd come out. Heavy footsteps echoed through the air.

"Just don't move!" Loki hissed to the others.

"Hurry, men!" a voice sounded from the tunnel. "We cannot let them escape!"

Sif turned towards Loki. "They know we are here!"

"We have to get away, now!" Arya joined in, but after a quick look around the plaza she noticed that every exit was blocked or now filled with a dozen armed bandits. They were trapped!

Fandral drew his sword. "We fight?" he asked, not able to hide a touch of excitement in his voice.

"Wait!" Loki whispered back. "They might not know where we are exactly!"

Finally the group of bandits appeared. All of them were carrying torches which were throwing dancing shadows on the floor. The other bandits were also closing in, carrying their own torches, creating new light.

Loki looked at the ground beneath his feet. At least five new shadows formed around him.

"Or… they do…" he said silently. Sif sighed and drew her sword.

"Then we fight!" she shouted. Before Loki could say anything, the female warrior stormed forward leaving the illusion behind her. The first bandits jumped back in surprise when Sif suddenly appeared out of thin air, which gave her the advantage and the others the time to follow her lead.

Loki sighed and shared a look with Thor. A sudden dark and serious expression covered his face.

"You stay here!" the young king commanded. The God of Thunder looked up in surprise.

"What do you mean? I can help!"

"Do as I say!" Loki hissed angrily. "You stay here! You don' fight! You're not here!"

Loki didn't leave Thor a chance to argue and threw himself into the fight. Thor watched his brother in disbelief. Was he serious?

Bandits started closing in on the four warriors. For every bandit they defeated at least three took its place. Loki, Fandral, Sif and Arya stood back to back, fighting of everything that came to close, but hey were losing.

"Split them up!" a voice roared over the fighting. Immediately a dozen bandits threw themselves in between the four warriors, forcing them to scatter. Sif jumped on the boxes they'd been hiding behind and kicked a bandit away. Fandral cut another's throat with one quick swing of his sword, ducked to let two bandits stomp each other in the face and jumped on the boxes to join Sif.

"Where's Thor?" Sif shouted while dodging an attack of a reptile-ish bandit.

"I don't know, but he's missing some epic fun!" Fandral shouted excitedly while kicking one of his assailants in the face. Sif frowned, but she didn't really have time to worry. Her eye fell on Arya who had been forced more to the centre of the square. She was fighting with her knife since she didn't have the room nor the time to fire an arrow. Loki was fighting his way over to her until they stood next to each other.

"My King!" Arya shouted while planting her knife in a yellow skinned bandit's head. "There're just too many! We can't defeat them all!"

"I know!" Loki shouted back. Five illusions, each one of them including one fighting Arya and Loki, suddenly appeared around the circle of bandits which was surrounding the two of them. The distraction gave them just enough time to slip through two bandits, kill them in the process and hide behind a wooden cart standing next to the headquarters building. They were breathing heavily while they sank on the ground. It wouldn't take the bandits long to discover the illusions weren't real. Arya looked to her right and found, to her surprise, Loki looking extremely pale and tired. The amount of magic he had been using was starting to take its toll.

When Loki noticed Arya's worried eyes he quickly smiled. The exhaustion disappeared almost immediately. He turned towards her and smiled again while putting one hand on the young warrior's shoulder. Arya froze and felt a weird tickling sensation, starting at her shoulder, running down her spine and filling her whole body with a warm feeling.

"Arya…" Loki started while trying to catch his breath. "You trust me, don't you?"

Arya needed a couple of seconds before Loki's words got a meaning, but when they did, she didn't know what to say.

"Y… Yes … yes, of course, my king…" she stumbled. Loki smiled which wasn't really helping with Arya's concentration problems…

"Grand!" the young king exclaimed. "Because I'm going to ask you to do something crazy!"

"Where are they!" a low voice roared from behind the cart. The bandits had discovered that the illusions were fake.

Loki pulled Arya's shoulder until she turned around and watched the same way he did. He stretched his arm and pointed towards an empty tunnel at the other side of the room.

"When I say 'now', you run towards that tunnel." he whispered tiredly next to her ear. "Don't look back, just run! I'll let the others know where to go. Thor will be waiting there for you. We'll get out that way!"

Arya couldn't argue or wait until every word Loki had said made any sense, because the young king let go of her shoulder, got to his feet and opened his palms in front of him, facing the cart.

Arya woke up from her trance. She turned towards Loki, but the young king closed his eyes and breathed out. Arya could almost feel him suck the energy out of the air around them before releasing it towards the cart in one green wave of pure magic. The car was blasted away, skimmed through the air and crushed on the bandits.

"NOW!" Loki shouted. Arya's feet obeyed and before she realised it, the young warrior was racing towards the gaping hole of the tunnel ahead. Behind her she could hear the cart break through the ranks of bandits. None of them noticed her getting away.

Loki lowered his hands and swallowed while rubbing his forehead. When he looked up, Loki noticed his view was getting blurred along the edges, but he refused to give in. The young king concentrated once more.

-xxx-

Sif looked up when a sudden crashing sound echoed over the square. A wooden cart came flying in their direction, pushing bandits over on its way.

"Fandral!" Sif shouted, but the Asgardian warrior had spotted the danger too. Suddenly, without warning, Loki appeared in between the two warriors. The illusion was blurry and almost transparent, but it still turned towards Sif and pointed towards an empty tunnel at the other end of the square.

"Go!" Loki's illusion said. His voice sounded far away, a bit raw and metallic, but Sif understood what he meant. He eyes followed Loki's pointing finger until she spotted Arya running towards the same exit. The female warrior faced the spot where she'd seen Arya and Loki before, but Loki was gone. Now there was only an empty cart parking space left.

Sif put her shield on her back and with her free arm she reached through Loki's illusion, which instantly dissolved, to grab Fandral.

"Come on!" she shouted. Both warriors jumped of the boxes just before the cart crushed into them.

"Run!" Sif yelled while pointing at Arya's running figure. The young warrior had almost reached the tunnel. Fandral nodded and followed Sif. The bandits were way too busy with avoiding a flying cart, to follow them.

-xxx-

Thor had only just managed to jumped aside before the supply boxes were blasted to smithereens by – of all things – a flying wooden cart. In his haste he'd forgotten Mjölnir, but Thor didn't have time to think about it too much, because a sudden bandit jumped at him out of nowhere and grabbed him by the shoulders. Thor stretched out his arm to summon Mjölnir, but the bandit seemed to predict his every move and kicked hard on Thor's wrist which broke with a sickening crack. Thor roared in agony, but the bandit didn't seem impressed. He just pulled Thor up and threw him towards the other bandits.

"Going somewhere, _your highness_?" one of them said with a hissing tongue. The last things Thor saw was a creepy, almost familiar smile before he felt a painful blow on the back of his head and everything turned black.

-xxx-

Sif finally reached the tunnel and ran towards Arya who was standing a little bit further. The young warrior immediately turned and tightened her bow, ready to shoot, when she noticed it as only Sif and Fandral.

Arya lowered her bow and smiled. All three of them were out of breath.

"Where's Loki?" Fandral asked with an unnatural high pitched voice.

"He said he was going to warn you guys…" Arya answered in a whisper.

"He did…" Sif said while turning back to the square. The bandits were starting to get organised again. "And where is Thor? We need to leave or hide!"

"I suggest we do both!" Fandral said with a grin, while trying to catch his breath.

"I… I don't know…" Arya stuttered, ignoring Fandral. A sudden fear was starting to take hold of her body. "Loki claimed Thor would be here, waiting for us…"

"Well I don't see h…" Fandral started, but was cut off by marching footsteps coming out of the tunnel. He immediately lifted his sword again. Sif turned around. Her eyes grew big with panic. And then it struck her.

"It was all a trick…" she whispered.

"What?" Fandral asked. Sif's eyes grew dark.

"It was all a trick!" she repeated while drawing her sword. Behind them the bandits had noticed where they'd gone.

"What do you mean?" Arya asked.

Sif took a deep breath. "He's tricked us! This was Loki's plan all along!"

"Sif…" Fandral tried. "I don't think Loki would…"

"Don't you see, Fandral!" Sif interrupted angrily. "Loki's not coming! And neither is Thor! I bet he wanted Thor alone so he could kill him after all! And in the process, he also gets us killed!"

"No!" Arya shouted. She was starting to get enough of Sif's impossible attitude towards their king.

"Oh, look around you Arya!" Sif shouted. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's working with these bandits in the first place!"

"No! You're wrong! Why would he do this!" Arya responded furiously, although she had to admit their current situation wasn't exactly proving her point. What had Loki asked her again? _You trust me, don't you?_

Was this what he had meant with 'doing something crazy?', to take his side?

"He's not coming, Arya!" Sif shouted, the pain, panic and hatred clearly sounding through. "He's no king! He will never be! He's just a lying murderer!"

Arya wanted to shouted something in response, but was interrupted by Fandral.

"Incoming!" the Asgardian warrior shouted just before at least three dozen bandits came running around the corner.

At the same time the other bandits rushed in the tunnel from the square. The three warriors drew their weapons. With a loud cry Sif attacked the first one. The others followed her lead, but it was just impossible. Arya sliced an arm off a bandit in front of her and turned around.

"My Lady!" she shouted when she spotted a bandit attacking Sif from behind. She ran towards him and planted her dagger in his back, before he got the chance to slice Sif in half. The female warrior turned to thank Arya when she saw a bandit with two ugly heads, lift his axe behind Arya while shouting: "Don't kill them, men! He could be anyone here!"

Sif didn't have time to think about what Mr. two-head meant.

"Arya!" she shouted, but it was too late. The young warrior, distracted by the bandit's weird order, saw the blunt end of the axe flying towards her head before she unconsciously fell to the ground.

Sif ran forward and stepped over Arya's body.

"Fandral!" she shouted, just before she heard a short scream and the Asgardian warrior sank to the ground next to her, the back of his had bleeding severely. Before Sif could do anything, an enormous, stincking, grinning troll towered above her. The female warrior dodged his first attack, but was thrown back by the force of his club on her shield. With one sickening crack somewhere in her leg and the sound of her own scream, everything turned black.

* * *

**I hope you like it! **

**I'll have to disappoint you, but the next four days I wont have much time to write, so... You'll have to wait, with this beautiful cliffhanger I gave you! Moehahaa! *evil Loki grin* (this is for all the people who DID scroll down!)**

**But worry not! Just as promised: a little Christmas present!**

**A ONE-SHOT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL!***

**Wow! You didn't see that coming, did you! HO HO HO! (Jeez... Sorry again, forget that last thing... Seriously, forget it ever happened!)**

**Please, let me know what you think! (of both)**

**And a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!**

**Rumple x**

*more info on my profile :)


	39. Chapter 38

**Hi guys! It's been a while (don't kill me...) Anyway, here's another chapter for you! ENJOY!**

**WARNING: this chapter contains violence (well, sort of... you'll see)**

* * *

_**Chapter 38**_

Spots. That was the first thing Arya noticed when she opened her eyes. Lots and lots of spots in every colour imaginable covering her view. Blazing, almost painfully bright light pierced between them as if it was trying to cut into her eyes.

Arya groaned. She had an agonizing headache which seemed to grow worse every time she tried to search for the world behind the spots and she felt as if she was going to be sick!

Arya sighed and closed her eyes again. Slowly the sounds around her got meaning. It all started as muted under water-muttering, but then evolved into sharp tones, cutting in her ears. The young warrior took a deep breath and tried to move her limbs, but she couldn't. Carefully Arya opened one eye. The light immediately attacked without mercy, but the young warrior forced herself to look down. Slowly the spots disappeared and the ground came into focus.

_Ropes… _

The word shot through Arya's mind even before she'd realised the meaning of it. Thinking appeared to be rather difficult. Arya tried to move her feet again, but the thick, raw, scruffy ropes stayed in place.

_Ropes…_ Arya thought again. A frown appeared on her forehead while she tried to add the logical result. _Ropes… That's why I can't move…_

"_Arya!_"

Arya groaned and closed her eyes. She'd heard her name, but wasn't sure where it came from.

"_Arya! Can you hear me?_"

The young warrior searched her blurry memory. What had happened? And who was calling for her? The voice seemed familiar, although this particular voice didn't sound right… Arya tried to focus back on the sounds around her.

"ARYA!"

Arya heard her own loud moan. Every letter cut its way through her mind and pounded in her ears.

"Arya! Open your eyes!"

_No! _Arya thought. _I don't want to open my eyes! I wanne sleep! Shut up!_

"Arya!"

The young warrior sighed and muttered: "All right…"

Steadily, she tried again. This time however the light was gentle and allowed her to focus on her surroundings. Arya blinked and noticed the light wasn't that bright at all. In fact it was rather dusky, as if night had fallen, but no one bothered to switch on the lights. In front of her, Arya could make out a dark, dusty wall.

_Right… _Arya thought, while the images started to take form in her memory. _I'm underground! In the bandits' hide out! We got captured… and Loki…_

"Arya!" it sounded again. Arya turned to her right where the voice was coming from. She met the eyes of a worried looking Fandral which was a weird combination.

Fandral's eyes searched Arya's face.

"Are you okay? How many times can you see me? If you're lucky you've got a really bad concussion and you can enjoy all seven of me!"

Arya smiled. The Asgardian might have looked worried, but he certainly hadn't lost his sense of humour.

"Just one, thank you… I'm fine, my Lord…"

Fandral smiled sheepishly. A deep sigh came from behind Arya's back, but when she turned she could only see a rocky column.

"Damn it, Fandral! Stop being pathetic! This is no time for jokes! We have a problem to deal with!" Sif's voice sounded.

"My Lady?" Arya asked.

"Yes, Arya! But could you maybe, just maybe, stop calling me that? You're not a civilian any more…"

Arya turned quiet.

"So… any ideas?" Fandral interrupted the silence.

"What about trying to escape?" Sif suggested sarcastically.

"Bwa…." Fandral answered with a smile. "Maybe later…."

Arya now noticed that her hands were also bound to the column behind her. She looked at the Asgardian warrior next to her and saw that he wasn't better off.

"Is there a chance they missed a knife on you somewhere, Arya?" Sif suddenly asked. The young looked around. Her bow was missing too…

"I'm afraid not…"

An irritated sigh sounded through the air. "It's pathetic!" Sif's voice followed. "He can't even lead us into battle!"

Arya wondered who she was talking about until she turned to her left and noticed that someone else was tied up there too. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed it was none other than her king, Loki. Yet, the God of Mischief seemed to be unconscious.

"Come on, Sif!" Fandral joined in. "He couldn't have foreseen this!"

"Well, he should have!"

"If I remember correctly, you said this was a trap, set up by Loki!"

A short groan interrupted the two friends. Sif turned to her right and watched Loki wake up. The young king slowly opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. Arya pitied him.

"I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, LOKI!" Sif suddenly shouted unnecessarily loud right next to the young king's ear. If he hadn't been tied to the column, Loki would have jumped a foot in the air. The young king opened his eyes in bewilderment and tried to get a grip on all the colours which were dancing and turning in front of his eyes.

"Sif!" Fandral shouted. "Seriously?"

"My king?" Arya asked quietly.

Loki blinked and cleared his throat. Slowly he looked up, his eyes full of confusion.

"Are you all right, my king?" Arya asked. Loki frowned.

"What?" he asked, but because his throat was raw and dry the only thing that came out was a meaningless whisper.

"WE GOT CAPTURED!" Sif yelled from the young kings right side. Loki winced and turned towards the female warrior.

"Sif?" he asked in a whisper. The young king licked his lips and tried again. Where was this infernal headache coming from? "What do you mean?" he asked.

Sif rolled her eyes, yet Arya frowned. There was something different about Loki. Something strange…

"I mean that your plan – if I can call it that – failed brilliantly!" Sif added.

Loki sighed and closed his eyes as if he had to think over Sif's words. He opened his eyes again and shook his head in confusion.

"My… my plan?" he asked.

Sif raised her eyebrows, but the look of hatred soon returned on her face.

"Splendid! Our _great king _has lost his memory! How thoughtful!" she shouted sarcastically.

If possible Loki's confusion only seemed to grow.

"King?" he asked. "L… Loki is the king…"

Arya raised her eyebrows in surprise and even Sif didn't know what to say any more.

"Okay…" Fandral eventually broke the silence. "Our situation just got a little bit worse…"

Loki frowned. He'd finally managed to focus on his surroundings.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, sounding rather irritated. "And where is Loki anyway?"

Sif and Arya both stared at Loki in disbelief, but the young king just stared back with a questioning look in his eyes.

"Bananas …" Fandral whispered just loud enough for all four of them to hear.

"What!?" Loki shouted while trying to escape from his robes.

"You think this is funny, Loki!" Sif eventually asked annoyed.

Loki turned towards her. "Loki? I'm not Loki! It's Thor!"

Sif stared at Loki.

"This is bad, guys!" Fandral said. "He thinks he's Thor!"

Loki rolled his eyes and looked past Sif to Fandral's shoulder. "That's because I am Thor, you idiot!"

"Right… " Fandral answered while turning so he could face Loki. "I meant to tell you this sooner, _Thor, _but I'm actually an enchanted pineapple…"

Loki sighed.

"Just stop it, Loki!" Sif shouted angrily.

"But I am Thor!" Loki shouted. "Why do you keep saying I am L…"

Loki looked down and shut up.

"What the…." he started, while inspecting his legs, covered in a green/black armour. "What is this!"

"Don't worry, Loki…" Fandral said sarcastically. "You'll get over it…We all did..."

"I'm not kidding Fandral! This must be some kind of illusion…"

Arya looked at the man next to her. For some reason she knew he was telling the truth.

"You really are Thor…" she suddenly said. Loki/Thor turned towards her. New hope lit up in his light grey eyes.

"Yes! Yes! I am!"

"How would you know?" Sif asked more rudely than she meant.

"Well… "Arya started, until she realised she didn't have an answer. She just knew. "I mean…" she tried. "Look… look at him. Loki doesn't… he doesn't…"

Loki/Thor sighed.

"Wait…" Fandral interrupted. "You mean to say Loki is REALLY Thor!"

"An illusion!" Arya added.

Fandral whistled between his teeth. "Nope… You just lost me there…"

"Maybe we should stop arguing and try to find a way out of here! And where IS Loki? The real Loki!" Thor shouted.

Sif's eyes turned dark.

"Isn't it obvious… He's gone! He probably ran off, back to Asgard! He just left us here to die!" she said.

"Sif…" Fandral started. "Why would he do that?"

"Because then he's the only one left who can claim the throne!"

"He already has the throne!" Fandral shouted.

"He's eliminating threats and that includes us!"

"Threats? We are the only good warriors he has left! And in case you forgot, Volstagg, Hogun and Heimdall are still out there, not to mention Jane!" Fandral answered.

"He'll probably come up with some lie…"

"Damn it, Sif! What happened to you!"

"What happened to me? Look at yourself, Fandral! Why are you taking his side? Can't you see he's playing us! Have you forgotten what he has done!"

Fandral laughed. "You're so pathetic, Sif! You miss the obvious! Why would Loki put an illusion of himself on Thor?"

"Because then the bandits think they captured him!"

"I thought you said Loki was working with the bandits!" Fandral exclaimed. "Loki was your friend, for Odin's sake! I also hate him for imprisoning us, but you can't deny he's been an extraordinary king!"

"You're blinded, Fandral!"

"ENOUGH!" Arya suddenly shouted.

Both warrior turned silent.

"BOTH OF YOU! If I hear one more complaint about Loki, someone will get hurt! Am I making myself clear?" Arya exclaimed.

The young warrior didn't give them time to answer. "It's time to start thinking! Fandral is right: why did Loki leave an illusion of himself?"

"What happened to LORD Fandral?" Fandral asked innocently, but everyone ignored him.

Thor nodded when the memory of Loki ordering him to stay put became visible before his eyes.

"To hide me…" he said. Arya turned towards him.

"Hide you?"

"Yes…" Thor said with a smile. "Loki ordered me not to fight. He probably left the invisibility illusion up during the fight. I even bet he was the bandit who ambushed me. I thought it strange that bandit knew when I was about to summon Mjölnir…"

"What did he do?" Fandral asked.

"He broke my wrist…" Thor answered dryly. Fandral clicked his tongue and nodded.

"Yep, definitely Loki…"

"And that's also why the bandits called me 'your highness'. I was under cover… They thought they'd captured Loki…"

"But why would he go through so much trouble?" Arya asked. Thor smiled.

"To have a look around…" he whispered. "The bandits saw four warriors, they never saw me… they just knew there were intruders…"

"Wait…" Fandral joined in. "Is this been Loki's plan all along?"

Thor smiled again. "Maybe…" he said.

Fandral sighed.  
"Is our rescue part of his great plan?"

Thor thought about that for a second. "That's where I come in…"

Arya smiled too. She was starting to understand. "Mjölnir…" she said.

Thor nodded. "Exactly! The bandits don't know I'm here, so they don't know about Mjölnir either. It's probably still where I left it…"

"So you can summon it?" Sif asked.

"I suppose I can…"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Fandral shouted.

"That…" Thor simply answered. From the tunnel in front of them a group of four bandits suddenly appeared.

"Good morning, your highness!" the first one exclaimed. He came to a halt right in front of Thor and knelt down.

"I hope you had a good nap…"

Thor didn't show any emotion. _Information… _he thought. _Just ask the right questions…_

The God of Thunder wanted to sigh. Loki was so much better at things like this.

"Who are you? And why didn't you kill us?" Thor asked.

The bandit grinned, showing a set of yellow razor sharp teeth.

"My name is General Skaldur! There are those who are prepared to pay a proper price to those who hand you over… You have many enemies, _my leach…_"

Thor frowned. "And who are you speaking of, if I might ask?"

Skaldur smirked and leaned closer to Thor's ear.  
"Let's just say an old friend of yours is here to collect your debt…" he whispered harshly before getting on his feet again.

"And for the rest of you… I'm sure Asgard will be missing you soon… I wonder how much you're worth… Enjoy your stay! It might be only temporary!"

With that said he turned around and left, the three other bandits followed.

Thor breathed out.

"Skaldur…."Fandral said with a smile. "What a pathetic name!"

"What was he talking about?" Arya asked after an annoyed silence, full of sighs and rolling eyes. "What debt?"

"I don't know…" Thor admitted. "But now we know there's someone who's after Loki… That can't be good…"

"I suggest we get going then…" Fandral said.

"Maybe we should wait a little bit longer…" Thor said to himself. "We might meet Loki's _old friend_…"

Thor's words had barely left his lips when the yellow-teethed Skaldur appeared again. This time he was accompanied by someone else: a dark, hooded figure with a strange mask covering his face. Thor noticed his hands counted two thumbs each.

"I think you got a lot of catching up to do…" Skaldur said with an evil sneer. The hooded man stepped closer. Thor couldn't see his eyes underneath the dark hood of his robes, but he felt the cold stairs cutting straight into his soul. The man came close, his hands folded in front of him. It almost felt as if the temperature fell instantly. Thor tried not to show the sudden fear which was building up inside his body. For some reason this man gave him the creeps.

"I did warn you what would happen if you failed us…" a raspy, cold voice sounded from underneath the hood. "My Master wasn't amused…"

Bit by bit, the stranger came closer. He almost seemed to be floating over the ground.

"We granted you the sceptre, we gave you the Chitauri army and yet…. We didn't get anything in return…"

The man was now standing right in front of Thor. The God Of Thunder could smell a disgusting scent… the scent of death…

Soundless, the man knelt down, bringing his face on the same level as Thor's.

"You shall pay your debt, Asgardian!" he hissed angrily while raising his right hand. Thor completely froze and watched the stranger reach out for him. For a second he was sure he was about to die and this grey skinned creep would be the last face he would ever see. Yet, the man suddenly froze as well. The evil sneer on his lips faded. He took a deep breath through his nose as if he was smelling the air like a hound.

He opened his mouth and clenched his teeth together. The smell of rotten flesh was blasted into Thor's face. The God Of Thunder closed his eyes in horror, in an attempt to keep the tears from flowing. This was even worse than the sewers!

"Where is he!" the stranger roared angrily. Thor opened his eyes and watched the man get on his feet again an turn towards Skaldur. "This is not him!"

Thor frowned. How could he know that? For as long as Thor could remember no one had ever seen through one of Loki's illusions, except their mother of course. Thor looked down at his legs to check whether the illusion was still in place or not, but there didn't seem to be a problem.

Skaldur was equally surprised. He looked down on Thor before fixing his eyes back on the dark stranger in front of him, not able to hide a flash of fear.

"Excuse me, my lord?" he asked.

The man floated without sound towards Skaldur until their noses almost touched. The frightened bandit swallowed.

"You've been tricked, Skaldur!"

The General opened his mouth, but nothing came out. After a couple of seconds a silent whispers left his lips.

"Tricked? By whom?"

The dark man opened his mouth in what probably had to be an evil smile. Skaldur almost fainted when his breath infiltrated his nostrils. The stranger slowly turned and pointed down towards Thor.

Skaldur followed his pointed finger and gulped in fear.

"That is NOT Loki, prince of Jotenheim…" the man hissed. He lowered his arm and turned back towards a petrified Skaldur. Slowly he moved forward, forcing the bandit to step backwards until his back hit the wall behind him.

"I thought I made myself clear, Skaldur… My terms are simple: do not fail me!"

Skaldur's mouth hang open in a silent scream.

"I…I.. m...My…my lord…" he stuttered. "P…p..pl..please… I swear I didn't know!"

The stranger lifted his right hand. Skaldur turned pale.

"No…No.. p…please! My lord! I beg of you! It's not my fault! I didn't capture them…. It …it were my men! I'm not to b…blame!"

The man's hand was now right in front of Skaldur's face.

"Please! I…I… My men could not see through this trickery! Your intelligence has no e…equal, my lord! I beg of you! Give… Give me one more chance! I will do it myself this time… or I'll put my best men on the job! Yes!"

The strangers dark eyes pierced into Skaldur's. There was even a flash of pure delight visible.

"I should have known… I should have known a life-form as weak and puny as you would fail me! I'll do it myself!" the stranger whispered right next to Skaldur's ear.

With that said he lowered his hand in Skaldur's neck and closed his fingers around his cold flesh. Skaldur's pupils narrowed while his eyes filled with pure agony. His mouth hang open in a silent scream of torture. The temperature in room sank to its minimum. Even the light dimmed a little. Skaldur's skin turned grey until it slowly cracked like stone and crumbled of his bones. Within seconds the bandit had turned to a pile of stinking ashes on the floor.

The strange man lowered his hand and cleaned his palm before he turned his back on the four terrified prisoners and left.

-xxx-

"Who…Who was that?" Arya's voice peeped through the cold air. She hadn't seen most of what had happened and to be honest she was glad she hadn't, but that hadn't made her less scared.

"Guys?" she asked after a short silence, but no answer came.

"My lord?" she asked.

"I DON'T KNOW, ARYA!"Thor roared in pure fright. He was still staring in horror at the pile of dust against the wall.

...

"I must say, I'm not exactly fond of Loki's friends…" Fandral tried after a while, but his voice was shaking and sounded raspy as if he'd been shouting.

"Just get us out of here, Thor!" Sif called out immediately as if Fandral hadn't said anything.

"Right…" The God of Thunder answered while forcing himself to look away from the wall. "Mjölnir…"

Thor stretched his fingers which was rather hard with the ropes cutting his wrists, but about twenty seconds later they all heard an rumbling sound. The next moment Mjölnir blasted through the wall in front of Arya, zoomed right next to her face and crushed the rock pillar to which the four warriors were bound. All four of them were covered with an wave of falling rocks and sand, but they didn't care. As fast as possible they freed their hands from the ropes, untangled the ropes around their legs and rushed for the exit.

"We're going to need our weapons!" Arya said, sounding out of breath.

Sif nodded in agreement. "I'm not going out there, unarmed, with that freak walking around!"

Thor peeped around the corner of the room they'd been imprisoned. Two guards were talking to each other at the end of hallway. They looked scared and seemed to be arguing whether to see why their boss was taking so long or to just stay put.

Thor turned back to his friends and raised up two fingers.

_Weapons! _Sif mouthed as a reminder. Thor nodded impatiently.

"Then we need to find them first, don't we?" he whispered. "In the meantime, take whatever those two are carrying."

Sif sighed. Of course she understood what Thor meant, but after what she'd seen only minutes ago, she felt a lot more safe and confident with her own trusty sword and shield.

"Exactly how are we going to fight our way out without weapons?" Fandral asked in whisper.

"Mjölnir?" Arya suggested. She looked at Thor's hand, but Mjölnir was already hidden by Loki's illusion. _Loki…_ she thought while the image of her king appeared in front of her eyes. His reassuring smile, his trust in her reflected in his light grey eyes… Where was he? Was he al right? Suddenly a cold shiver ran down the young warrior's spine. She'd remembered something! Something very important!

"We have to hurry!" she suddenly said out loud. Everyone looked at her in horror, but it was too late. The arguing stopped.

"Did you hear that?" one voice sounded.

"Maybe they're just talking…" another one answered.

"No, no… That was way to close…"

The sound of a sword being drawn followed.

Sif closed her eyes and sighed. Thor threw a defeated glare towards Arya, but the young warrior wasn't paying attention. On the contrary. Her eyes were filled with pure fear, but not because of the upcoming threat. Thor realised this was important. The God of Thunder looked around his friends while thinking over an escape plan. Any second now, the two bandits would come walking around the corner.

_What now? _Fandral mouthed. Thor made a decision and gestured for Fandral to come closer. When the Asgardian warrior stood right next to him, Thor put one hand on his shoulder and lent forward to whisper something in his ear.

Yet, suddenly, Thor drew Fandral towards the corner and before the warrior could say anything, Thor had thrown him into the hall right in front of the two bandits.

The two men froze in their steps. One was carrying a heavy sword while the other had a spiked club resting on his shoulder. The two of them stared Fandral, completely stunned, but the Asgardian warrior wasn't better off.

Fandral just stood there and stared back. His mouth was hanging open, ready to curse Thor, but nothing came out. Without his weapons, Fandral almost felt naked in front of these too.

Unlike his appearance sometimes suggested, Fandral wasn't all stupid. After all, this was a tactic they'd used many times before, but most of the time, Loki would take care of this part of the job.

Fandral quickly smiled and stretched his arms above his head as if he was just taking a morning stroll.

"Well Hi…. Blokes…" he started while his eyes scanned every bit of the two bandits. The right one with the sword was tall, yet skinny. His sword was pointed towards the ground. Fandral presumed the weapon was in fact far too heavy for this poor guy. The one standing to the left was smaller, but clearly more muscled.

Fandral licked his lips and continued. "I was just wondering… where err… the toilet might be… it's rather urgent…"

The two bandits just kept staring at Fandral. The Asgardian warrior cursed Thor and Loki in his head a million times, but forced himself to keep smiling.

"No? No toilets? Dear me… talking about bad working conditions…"

Finally the long bandit started to notice something was not right.

"Why are you not chained up!" he shouted.

Fandral laughed, but his laugh only faded through the tunnels. Awkward…

"Right…" he whispered before clearing his throat."Oh my!" he started again while focusing his attention on the short one. "You look rather strong, my friend…"

The short bandit frowned. It seemed hard for him to get the situation. "I tied you to that pillar…" he said more to himself then to any one in particular. For a second his eyes locked on the ground while he ran over his day inside his head. The bandit looked up again. Fandral stood right in front of him, still smiling like an idiot.

"Do you work out?" the Asgardian warrior asked in a high pitched voice.

"You escaped!" the short bandit roared angrily while raising his club from his shoulder. The long one grunted approvingly while trying to lift his sword.

Fandral frowned innocently and looked at his hands as if he was checking whether the robes were still there or not.

"Good gracious!" he exclaimed with the same high pitched voice from before. "I must have!"

The two bandits looked at their prisoner in disbelief, until Fandral suddenly looked up again, fake panic colouring his eyes.

"That's what I came to tell you, two bright blokes... the others have escaped too!"

"What!" the long one shouted before lifting his sword as high as possible and running around the corner.

A sickening, metal sound rang through the hallway. The long bandit dropped his swords and slowly fell backwards until his body hit the ground. His fat companion realised one second too late that Fandral had moved behind him. With one well-placed hit in the bandit's neck, Fandral eliminated their second threat.

Thor, Sif and Arya walked around the corner too, all looking at Fandral in disbelief.

"Was that really necessary?" Sif sighed. "You could have said we'd escaped as soon as they saw you!"

"You were lucky they lacked any basic intelligence… He walked straight into Mjölnir..." Thor added. Fandral sighed and smirked.

"To be guarded by idiots like these is an immediate insult on my honour!"

"Honour? What honour?" Arya joined in. Everyone, including herself was surprised by her sudden outburst. Yet, Arya rather enjoyed Fandral's shocked expression.

"I did prefer LORD Fandral…" the Asgardian warrior eventually said with a smile.

"_Good gracious_!" Sif repeated, imitating Fandral's high voice. All four of them laughed until Arya suddenly remembered. Her smile faded while the image of Loki, looking pale and tired was clear in her mind.

"We need to hurry!" she repeated while walking over to the fat guy. She'd noticed a small blade tied to his belt.

"What's wrong, Arya?" Thor asked. Of course he knew they had to get out of here, but the panic in Arya's voice gave him a hint that there was more at stake. When Arya looked up from the bandit's body, her eyes had changed. For the first time Thor could see the born leader inside the your warrior. Everything about her screamed out her authority. Even Sif and Fandral turned silent.

"I don't know how long we were out, but it couldn't have been longer than a few hours." Arya declared. "When I last saw Loki, he was reaching his limits if comes to the use of magic. I don't know how he's capable of achieving these illusions, but I am sure he won't hold out for very much longer.

Sif nodded while remembering the blurred illusion Loki had sent them.

"Arya's right!" she said. "But why is he keeping up Thor's illusion then? It has done its purpose, right?"

"Not necessarily…"

Everyone looked at Fandral in surprise. He wasn't exactly known for his knowledge on magic, but the Asgardian just ignored them and carried on.

"There're two options…Or Loki doesn't know we already met his _friend _or he's keeping it up for a reason…"

"A distraction…" Arya finished. Everyone nodded.

"Where ever Loki is right now, he doesn't want anyone to know where the _real_ him is…" Thor added after a couple of seconds.

"That creep knows…" Sif reminded them. "He doesn't know where, but he knows you're not Loki…"

Thor's eyes grew dark. He looked at every single one of his friends before revealing his worst fear.

"It's possible Loki didn't know that man would see through the illusion. Maybe this stranger is stronger than Loki initially predicted…"

"Then we need to find Loki before that creep does…" Sif said to everyone's surprise.

"Right!" Fandral shouted in excitement while rubbing his hands together. "I'm taking the sword!"

"Not a chance!" Sif immediately answered with a smile before following Arya and Thor towards the end of the tunnel, to start their impossible search for their king.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! :)**

**Anyway, for those who already guessed who this creep is (even before I uploaded this bloody chapter ;) ), just this one thing: I DON'T FOLLOW ANY OTHER MARVEL FILM/SERIES! Just saying, because I know that in the current _Marvel Universe _this guy is already gone...**

**For those who haven't got a clue... watch The Avengers again, it's quite obvious... :) (btw, this also counts for those who did guess it, seriously, The Avengers is awesome! Go watch it right now!)**

**Oh and just to let you know, school has started again :( and I am drowning in school work :( :( :(, so... the next update might take a while, sorry... really really sorry... :( :( :( :( :( **

**Well.. let me know what you think... review, review, review... Damn it, you know the drill :)**

**I like chocolate! (sorry, just wanted to say something random :) But seriously, I'm addicted to it... ) **

**See ya!**

**Rumple x**


	40. Chapter 39

**So... Hello again... Oh, who am I kidding... I AM SO SORRY FOR MAKING YOU WAIT SOOOOOO FREAKISHLY LONG! (unless, of course, you only just started reading my fic, then you can ignore this message and just assume I'm one of those writers who promises you to upload frequently and actually does it... because I do that! Really! And I also never lie! ;P)**

**In fact, I thought: what better day to upload than on the 9th of febuary, on Tom **** Hiddleston´s birthday! So yeah, you got to thank him for this one... :-D**

**Anyway... I hope you don't hate me too much, because I got another chapter for you! But you already knew that since you're reading this... Aargh... Just ENJOY it :)**

**WARNING: There is some violence ahead...**

* * *

_**Chapter 39**_

Fandral scowled while hoisting the heavy club back on his aching shoulder. Why had Sif taken the blade anyway? It was obviously way too big, not to mention, too heavy for her, yet the female had insisted in claiming the weapon and for some reason she actually managed to drag it along.

"Why such a long face, Fandral?" Sif said with a smile. The Asgardian warrior didn't answer, but just threw his friend a hateful scowl.

"Don't you start too!" Thor warned. The God of Thunder was walking in front of them, trying hard to keep up Arya's fast pace. Thor had to admit he was rather worried. Arya's behaviour was giving him the creeps. Not that he disliked it. The young warrior was showing a set of brilliant leading skills, but the fact that she was so extremely worried about Loki just couldn't be good. After all, it wasn't like Arya had spent a lifetime at The God of Mischief's side, so she didn't know him as a friend nor as a brother. Thor kept wondering how it was possible that Arya was more anxious about Loki's situation than he was. Was he being a bad brother right now? Or was Arya just being exceptionally loyal? No… She'd called Loki by his name! Before now she'd only addressed him as "king", but now… If Arya was becoming friends with Loki, maybe Thor had to warn her about his brother's bad habit of deceiving and lying and … not to forget… dying…

Every now and then Thor would check his body to see if the illusion was still in place. For now it seemed Loki was doing a fine job, where ever he was…. Thor bid his lip. Arya had been right. They couldn't have been knocked out that long, perhaps five hours, at most. They were all Asgardians which meant they recovered faster. If Loki had already been drained of power when Arya had last seen him, he couldn't have had much time to rest at all.

Without warning Arya suddenly stopped in her tracks at the end of the corridor they'd been walking through. One tunnel on the left, one on the right.

Thor almost bumped in to her. Before anyone could ask what the problem was, Arya drew her knife and sprang around the corner of the right tunnel. At the same time someone else jumped at her from the same tunnel with his sword raised high.

Arya brought down the knife but the assailant parried her attack and tried to knock the knife out of her hand. But Arya was trained well and quickly threw her knife in the air, dodging the tackle, before catching it again with her left hand, ready to attack. With her free right arm she pulled her attacker towards her and pouched him back hard against the wall. With one quick move she placed her knife on his throat.

"Wait, Arya! Hold it!" the man called out. "It's me!"

Arya looked up in surprise. The last two words were spoken with a different, familiar voice, yet it was the same guy. And then she saw it. Arya's eyes locked with the attacker's. In one breath taking moment his hazel brow eyes turned light grey, almost green. Arya loosened her grip and stepped back. Behind her, Thor, Sif and Fandral had only just realised they could have been in danger and had raised their weapons. They just stared from Arya to the man against the wall and watched his eyes change colour.

"Lok…. My king…" Arya exclaimed in surprise. She watched the stranger in front of her. He smiled mysteriously and his eyes changed back to the hazel coloured ones from before. Suddenly two men came running around the corner. Sif, Fandral, Thor and Arya drew their weapons once more, but Loki quickly raised his hands and stepped in between the two groups.

"Weapons down everyone!" he called out it the stranger's voice. Obviously no one immediately obeyed.

"Who are they!" Fandral called out while trying to look at least a little bit as if he knew how to use the club he was holding.

Loki looked at Fandral and grinned. "They're part of our army…" he said. Fandral frowned.

"Our army?" Sif asked.

"So they were imprisoned?" Arya asked.

Loki smiled proudly. "Were…" he confirmed.

Thor grinned widely. Before Loki could stop him, he ran forward and threw his arms around the young king in disguise. In fact, now Thor realised how incredibly worried and scared he had been. And now, Loki just showed up, claiming he'd freed the whole damn army!

"Where are they now?" he asked after letting go of his little brother. Loki was completely frozen.

"Eeer… Outside, at least, most of them…"

"Outside as in, not down in this hell hole!" Fandral asked.

"Outside as is, escaping through the Bifröst! The first part of our army is already returning, as we speak, fully armed and ready to arrest this scum!" Loki answered.

"How did you get them out?" Sif asked suspiciously.

Loki sighed. "As if you can't figure that out for yourself!"

"You pretended to be one of the bandits!" Arya said before Sif could answer. "And they thought they'd already got you…"

Loki couldn't help but smile. Arya was really growing into a wise leader.

"Not that I'm complaining, but if you got everyone out, why are you still here?" Fandral asked.

The young king rolled his eyes. "You guys were taking so long!" he exclaimed. "That's not my fault!"

"No thanks to you!" Sif snapped.

Loki grinned.  
"I had to improvise…"

Arya smiled widely. She realised how incredibly relieved she was to see Loki again, even though he looked like a bandit.

Thor cleared his throat and quickly shared a meaningful look with Sif, Fandral and Arya. All smiles disappeared when the image of the dark stranger became clear before their eyes.

Loki noticed it and sighed. "What is it now?" he asked sounding annoyed.

Thor looked around before answering. He had the feeling Loki wouldn't like to hear about his this creepy stranger.

"We met an old… acquaintance of yours…or so he said..." The God of Thunder eventually admitted. Loki's fake bandit face didn't show any emotion what so ever, but Thor noticed his brother freezing on the spot. The young king quickly relaxed and forced an questioning frown on his face.

"I have been living for some time already, and unlike what you think, Thor, I do have a social life…" he answered.

Thor sighed and Loki took his chance.

"Enough talking, time to go!" the young king announced. He turned his back to his four friends and gestured to the two warriors still waiting.

"I suppose you've missed these…" he continued while one of the Asgardian knights stepped forward and held out two swords. It took Sif and Fandral a while before they recognized their weapons. Loki grinned.

"We found them in the weapon depot…" he started, but Fandral interrupted by making an unnaturally high pitched squeak. He dropped his club on Sif's foot and quickly changed it for his trusty sword.

"Oh, you beauty!" he exclaimed. "Papa missed you!"

Sif groaned and kicked the club of her foot. She threw a murderous glare at her friend while grabbing her own sword, but Fandral was too obsessed with his sword to notice.

In the meantime, the second warrior hoisted Sif's shield of his back together with Arya's pitch black bow and matching quiver filled with a mixture of silver and normal, probably bandit's, arrows, just to have a reserve. Arya stumbled past Sif - who was strapping her shield to her left arm - and closed her hand around her bow. Immediately a familiar feeling of security filled her body. With a smile she also took her quiver and swung it on her back. Just when she started wondering where her knife was, a flash of silver appeared in the corner of her eye. Arya turned and watched Loki throwing her knife in the air and catching it swift and dexterously.

"It's a shame…" the young said with an enchanting smile while turning the blade in his palm so that the handle was facing Arya. "I was quite fond of this blade…"

Arya hoped the tunnel was dark enough to hide the blush appearing on her cheeks while she gratefully took the knife.

Loki turned and clapped his hands. "Well than, let's go!"

The two knights bowed their heads and led the way through the labyrinth. Sif and Fandral followed and once Arya had noticed Loki wasn't talking to her anymore, she did the same. Thor waited a couple more seconds. When Loki walked in the tunnel, he grabbed his brother's shoulder and turned Loki around. The young king frowned, but Thor's serious and worried expression made him shut up.

"Loki…" The God of Thunder whispered. "He was after you! Who was he?"

For a second Loki tried to pretend he didn't know who Thor was talking about, but the flash of fear visible in his eyes betrayed him. Even the illusion couldn't hide that…

"It doesn't' matter, Thor!" he eventually said harshly. "We need to get out of here!"

Loki tried to turn around and follow the others, but Thor pulled him back.

"This is no joke, Loki! He saw through your illusion!" Thor answered while gesturing to his own body, which was still covered in Loki's Loki-illusion.

Thor felt his brother freeze under his hand.

"Who was that, Loki?" he asked again, not able to hide his fear. If Loki was scared of this stranger too, then he would be a foul to even pretend not to be frightened himself.

"It does not matter…" Loki answered in a broken whisper while freeing himself from Thor grip. "Let's go!"

Thor sighed. "You're tiring yourself, Loki!" he shouted after his brother. "At least drop the illusions…"

"Absolutely not…" Loki answered in a scared whisper. He felt sick! The icy voice he'd feared never to hear again had just gotten a face. The young king realized his worst fears had come true. More reason to get the hell out of that horrifying labyrinth!

"THOR!" Sif's voice suddenly sounded from the end of the tunnel, immediately followed by a high pitched scream of terror from Arya. Loki looked up while his brother rushed past him. Before he realized it, his feet started moving and he was running after Thor while changing his appearance into one of a normal Asgardian warrior. Around the corner a group of at least twenty bandits was waiting for them. Arya, Fandral, Sif and one of the two warriors stood back to back with their weapons ready. The other warrior lay motionless on the ground with an axe sticking out of his back. He probably hadn't even had the time to scream.

Arya's eyes were fixed on the dead warrior, her face pale as ice.

"Your highnessssss…" one of the bandits hissed with his forked tongue sticking through his pointed teeth. It took Thor a while before realizing the bandit was talking to him.

"How nice of you to join usssssss…." the snake bandit continued while lifting his curved sabre.

Thor scowled and tightened his grip around Mjölnir which was still hidden by Loki's illusion.

"My pleasure!" he responded hatefully before raising his hand and throwing his hammer into the crowd. The moment his fingers left the handle, Mjölnir became visible and soared through the ranks of surprised bandits.

The snake bandit ducked away just in time and looked up at Thor, now realizing he wasn't fighting against The God of Mischief.

"Sssssorcery!" he hissed furiously. Unfortunately the bandit never got the chance to face the real Loki, because the young king who was standing right behind him, cut his throat with one of his daggers after which he dropped his own illusion, showing his true self and causing even more confusion now that there seemed to be two Loki's.

The two brothers threw themselves into the fight and joined their friends, but just when they thought they were having the upper hand, the bandits retreated as one and a new opponent walked onto the scene. A familiar cold washed over the group of warriors and everyone froze. As one they turned towards the newcomer.

Loki stumbled back and watched his old enemy approach. His brother turned towards him.

"Loki, who is he?" he asked again in aloud whisper. The others turned too, all showing the same frightened curiosity.

Loki gulped, his blood running cold with fear, his eyes glued to the dark stranger who came his way without making any sound.

"He is known as The Other…" the young king eventually whispered back. "He's Thanos' right hand man…"

All four of his friends froze. They'd all heard legends, stories and whispers about the dark and ruthless lord Thanos. A monster with a fierce desire to rule the galaxy, but never they'd even considered the idea about any truth in those tales. He was a myth…

"And my master, Thanos, isn't pleased!" The Other's raspy voice sounded. Everyone, even the bandits, shivered when the icy voice cut through the air. "It's time to pay your debt, Asgardian!"

The Other moved closer, his hands folded behind his back, his face hidden under his dark hood and mask. Only the evil sneer on his lips was visible.

No one moved. No one dared… Until Arya suddenly jumped in between Loki and The Other. Her bow raised and tightened, ready to shoot a deadly sliver arrow. The Other seemed amused. A crooked and horse laugh sounded through the tunnels.

"Silly girl…" he continued. "Don't be foolish and surrender…"

Yet, the only answer was the sound of another sword being drawn. Fandral stepped next to Arya, his sword raised, and tried to smile challengingly, which surprisingly wasn't that difficult at all. A second later Sif joined Other's smirk disappeared.

"We've been through way too much _shit_ today to just let you kill Loki…" Fandral announced a lot more confident then he felt.

"If you want our king, you'll have to get through us first…" Arya added.

"Exactly!" Sif finished to everyone's surprise.

For a second it seemed The Other had lost his eternal calmness.

"Fouls!" he shouted, blasting a wave of stinking breath towards the three warriors. Yet, his smirk returned and his cold stare drifted past his three opponents and fixed on – the real – Loki. Even Thor's illusion couldn't foul him anymore.

The young king hadn't moved a muscle and his face was as pale as ice.

A silent, low snigger left The Other's lips. "Well, well… Not so talkative now, are we?" he hissed while stepping closer again. Automatically Sif, Arya and Fandral stumbled back a bit.

"These people, these…. _friends_... of yours. They are willing to protect _you_! And yet… _you_ just stand there and do nothing! What a king you are…"

For a second, Loki's eyes darkened, but he was too damn scared to say anything in return. The Other sniggered once more – a hoarse and deep sound – and raised his hands beside his body in a challenging movement.

"Do the universe a favour and tell them to stand down so I can kill you here and now…"

Loki wanted to say something, anything, but his throat was dry and no words found their way through. He was paralysed with fear. The Other grinned, showing his rotting teeth.

"No?" he asked. "Very well, then I'll kill them first! Prepare to watch your friends die on your account, Loki Laufeyson!"

The Other clenched his teeth together in a wrathful scowl before raising his hand towards Arya.

"NO!" Loki finally shouted. Before he realized it, he'd pulled Arya away and had taken her place. The Other's hand came down. The next thing Loki knew was a scorching pain torturing his whole body. Tears burned in his eyes, his skin was on fire, all sound and colour faded… And then he felt a slink hand on his shoulder pulling him back.

In one sickening second, the cave appeared again in front of the young king's eyes, complete with the shouting, the stench, the cold and the terrifying face of The Other right in front of him. Loki gasped for breath while the hand let go of his shoulder, making place for a stronger grip. The young king fell backwards while a familiar sound of a bow being tightened sounded right next to his ear.

"Not today!" a female voice rang through the cave before the silver arrow buried itself deep into The Other's shoulder.

Loki desperately searched for his legs, but nothing seemed to make sense any more. Somewhere a deafening scream of agony sounded through the labyrinth.

"You shall pay for that!" The Other shouted while pulling the arrow out of his bloody shoulder. A second later Arya was thrown backwards past Loki and Thor – who's illusion dissolved while doing his very best to keep his brother on his feet – and smacked against the wall.

Loki blinked, furiously trying to stop the tears from flowing. Vaguely, he saw a golden flash jump in front of The Other. The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, making the young king wince.

"Loki! Come on!" Thor's voice sounded above him. Loki took a deep breath and shook his head, forcing himself to focus. Finally he managed to trace his feet all the way down his body, eagerly trying to find some support. With a little help from Thor, the young king eventually stood up straight again with his heart beating  
over-hours and his breath rushing in and out his burning lungs.

"Are you all right!" Thor called out. His brother obviously had some trouble focusing. Yet Loki forced a smile on his face and nodded.

"Yeah, sure…" he answered hoarsely. Thor nodded and pushed Loki behind him. "Stay here!" he ordered, but Loki wasn't listening. He caught sight of Arya who was trying to get on her feet again, until her eyes fell on her bow, laying on the ground ... split in two. Only the string was still connecting both ends. Due her unexpected fall she must have crushed it against the wall. Arya's insides turned to ice while she watched the trusty weapon she'd used for so many years, laying in pieces on the floor.

Loki, still a little dizzy, stumbled to her side, wondering why she wasn't getting up until he saw the bow on the floor and the upcoming tears in Arya's bright emerald eyes.

"No…" a soft whisper sounded while Arya's trembling hands reached for the pieces of her bow. Loki kneeled down and grabbed her wrist. The young warrior looked up in surprise, but when she recognized the face of her king, she couldn't keep herself from throwing him an accusing look.

A stab of guilt cut through the young king's heart and he let go of Arya's wrist. The weird thing was that he didn't feel sorry for Arya's bow… Of course he understood that it had meant a great deal to the young warrior, but it wasn't like this was the end of the world.

No, Loki just felt guilty towards _her_. If she hadn't tried to safe him, the Other wouldn't have attacked her. She'd been prepared to die for her king, she had been loyal and kind, yet all Loki seemed to be capable of, was doing her harm.

Arya noticed her king's pain and immediately felt bad. It wasn't his fault! The Other, that creep was to blame! The young warrior blinked her tears away and tried to smile, but that didn't really work out. Her eyes drifted back towards her bow. Something really precious had just been taken from her…

Loki swallowed and got to his feet.

"I'm sorry…" he said. "Arya… I'm sorry…"

The young warrior looked up and found Loki's outstretched hand, waiting for her to grab it and help her up again.

Arya smiled and sniffed away her last tears before gratefully taking hold of Loki's strong hand.

"Thank you…" she whispered in a broken voice, forcing a slight smile behind her words.

Loki smiled softly and turned towards the others while Arya drew her knife. Without saying another word, both of them threw themselves into the ongoing fight against The Other.

Sif and Fandral had been taking turns on attacking their opponent, while skilfully avoiding his deadly touch. Every now and then Thor and the second Asgardian warrior would jump in between the shifts and attack unexpectedly. Yet, The Other seemed to have a marvellous set of fighting skills, and he also seemed to wield some sort of invisible and powerful magic.

At one point, Thor charged again. This time, however, The Other saw it coming and turned towards the prince of Asgard, avoiding the flying hammer by inches. Just before he could touch Thor's outstretched arm, the second Asgardian warrior jumped in between him and his prince. What followed would hunt the nightmares of everyone present for years to come. Although Thor knew he should have looked away, he never got the chance. With one terrifying scream of agony the Asgardian warrior's skin turned from light pink to white to grey. Within a few seconds he'd become noting more than a pile of dust and ashes.

The Other grinned evilly while catching Thor's look of disgust and hatred. Mjölnir soared back into its owner's hand.

"ENOUGH!" Thor roared while taking a leap to attack again, but The Other was quick to act and with one swift movement of his fingers, Thor was thrown back. Now that Thor and especially Mjölnir were out of his path, The Other made his way towards Loki who was standing a little bit further with Arya right next to him. The young king scowled and forced any kind of fear to leave his eyes.

In flash Sif jumped in front of The Other, but he simply dodged her sword and slipped past the female warrior. Loki decided he wasn't going to wait for his opponent to get to him and charged with Arya in his wake. Two identical Loki-illusions appeared on either side of The Other, yet he didn't get distracted at all. Loki ducked under the outstretched arm of his opponent and used one of his daggers to cut a deep wound in his side, straight through his dark cloak.

The Other roared in agony, but before he could fight back Loki turned, allowing Arya to jump up from behind him, taking The Other by surprise. With a loud scream full of suppressed anger and hatred she planted her knife deep into The Other's stomach. At the same time, Fandral charged from behind him and struck The Other, who screamed in terror, right in the back.

Arya quickly dodged his swinging arm and pulled her dagger back. Pitch black, stinking blood gushed from the gaping wounds all over The Other's body. In blind anger he stumbled forwards towards Loki, his hands raised in a final attempt to touch the young king's skin and pulverize him on the spot. Yet, he didn't count on Sif who took a big leap before landing right on top of The Other's back, making sure she didn't touch his raw grey skin. Her opponent roared and screamed while trying to throw the female warrior off, but Sif buried her fingers in the cold fabric of his hood and pulled it back before slicing of his head with one strong swing of her sword. Black blood spat everywhere and covered Sif's face and golden armour. The screaming stopped and slowly faded through the caves. All eyes turned on The Other who didn't seem to fully understand yet that his head was no longer attached to his body. His eyes locked on Loki's, but the young king didn't show any sign of disgust or pity. He just stared back with a fierce hatred darkening his light grey eyes. The Other's mouth opened in a silent scream, but all that came out was a wave of dark, thick blood. Sif jumped of his back just before his body collapsed on the ground.

No one moved for a couple of seconds, until Sif and Loki both looked up from the decapitated body of The Other and shared a look. The young king slowly turned his gaze towards the cowering group of bandits in the corner. They all stared at The Other in pure terror, until they noticed Loki and Sif staring at them. The other's in the room slowly followed. Without showing any emotion Sif lifted the dripping head of the Other and threw it across the cave.

As one the bandits followed its flight across until it hit the dusty floor right in front of their feet.

After a short, tense silence the bandits looked up again, scared, pale, defeated...

At the other end of the cave, Fandral lifted his in blood covered sword and stepped forward until he stood next to Sif. He put down his sword, the blade facing down and nonchalantly leaned on the handle.

"It's just a little hint…" he started amused, although a firm and hateful tone was clearly audible. "But this is the part where you run!"

The bandits stumbled back, away from the five warriors, away from the fight, away from the disgusting and terrifying head of the once so mighty Other.

"And if it's all the same to you…" Fandral continued while lifting his sword again while he slowly closed in on the bandits. "Do us a favour and deliver yourselves to our army which is currently waiting outside to offer you a warm welcome… If you're lucky you might get to life out your miserable lives in a cosy cell on Asgard. Try to escape and you can be certain to suffer a most painful death…"

Fandral's eyes turned a couple of shades darker. That was enough for the bandits to make a decision. While stumbling, tripping and running over each other they made their way through the tunnels. Once the last one had disappeared from sight Fandral turned around and relaxed a little bit while throwing an amused glare towards Sif.

"Sif, my girl…" he said. "You look like shit! Black in really not your colour!"

For once, all Sif could do was grin widely at her friend's remark while sheathing her sword.

"As long as I look better than you, Fandral, I don't have to worry!"

The Asgardian warrior answered with an even bigger smile. Both friends laughed and turned towards the others. At the other side of the cave Thor had managed to get to his feet again. Arya sighed in relieve while lowering her weapon and Loki smiled. He, too, had not been spared from the waterfall of black blood since he'd been standing right in front of The Other.

The young king let his dagger slip back into his sleeves and rubbed the black blood out of his eyes.

"Now that was refreshing…" he said. Arya laughed and shared a smile with her king. She could see that Loki was more than relieved now that The Other's threat had been eliminated forever. She couldn't remember seeing the young king shine brighter. For a second she even forgot about the loss of her precious bow...

"Maybe I'm wrong…" Fandral suddenly started. "But I am quite certain that you, Sif, might have saved Loki's life…"

Sif's smile dropped, only to put a rather amused one on Loki's face.

The female warrior threw Fandral a murderous glare, but he just pulled up his eyebrows in pure innocence, so Sif turned towards Loki.

"This doesn't change anything!" she said harshly, yet she couldn't hide a smile when Loki raised his eyebrows.

* * *

**PANCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER!**

**That sentence above was completely unnecessary, but I felt like writing "pancakes with peanut butter" Don't ask me why.. we all have our random moments...**

**Anyway... Let me know what you think, please review and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Thanks!**

**Rumple x**


	41. Chapter 40

**So here you go! Hope you ENJOY it!**

* * *

_**Chapter 40**_

With a crushing noise, the shining rainbow beams of the Bifröst hit the ground one last time, taking the last prisoners to Asgard. Loki smiled and watched the light disappear again in the darkening sky before turning around. In the distance he spotted Thor flying in his direction. The young king waited patiently for his brother to touch down right in front of him. The God of Thunder grinned.

"The dam has been destroyed. The river is flowing through the villages again as we speak…"

Loki smiled shortly before turning back to the place where the Bifröst had left its dark mark in the dusty sand. His gaze slowly turned skywards.

"I hope Heimdall can see things properly again soon…" the young king faced his brother once more, but a deep frown gave away his worry. Thor tilted his head to one side and sighed.

"You still think there're bandits down there?" he asked while gesturing towards the dark pits covering the landscape.

Loki rolled his eyes.

"Where are Hogun and Volstagg?" he asked. "I haven't seen them after escaping this labyrinth…."

Thor turned towards the river which was now a lot further away than before. The ground was still soaked and covered with water plants. The God of Thunder lifted Mjolnir and pointed towards a faraway bend of the river. Two lonely figures where bossing a bunch of Asgardian warriors around.

"I put them in charge of the last demolition of the dam."

Loki nodded. He was obviously lost in thoughts. Thor turned towards his brother and smiled softly.

"You know… They do trust you… They see you as their king… And that also counts for Sif and Fandral. I believe you managed to convince them… even Hogun!"

Loki smiled. "Even Hogun?" he asked sarcastically. "Wow, the world is a better place…"

Thor grinned. "I'm just saying, Loki. They're ready to follow you, as I am too…"

Loki locked his eyes with his brother's, a sparkle of delight flashing through them. "I never had any problems with making you, all of you, believe something…" he said.

Thor sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Where are Arya and the others?" Loki asked after a short silence.

"I guess they're still down there, searching for the last bandits…" Thor answered while his eyes darted towards the big gaping holes in the ground. "About Arya…" he continued.

Loki frowned and turned towards his brother. "What about her?"

Thor locked his eyes with his brother's and smiled. "Well.. what do you think of her?"

Loki shook his head in confusion. Did his brother just ask him what he thought he'd asked him?

"Excuse me?" the young king exclaimed.

Thor frowned.  
"You know… what do you think about her progress? Do you think she's ready to become Captain or…"

Loki opened his mouth in understanding while an almost invisible blush coloured his pale skin. What was he thinking!

"Ooh… that…" he eventually answered. Thor raised his eyebrow, not really understanding why his brother was acting like this. When he realised Loki was drifting off once more, he spoke again.

"You see…" he started rather loudly, immediately catching the young king's attention again, "I was just wondering whether Arya could take over my responsibilities as The Captain. We both know I can't stay forever… "

Loki nodded vaguely. "Yes… yes of course…."

A short silence filled the air and Thor watched his brother struggling with finding the right words, which was a rather rare sight. Just when Thor wanted to ask what was bothering Loki, the young king smiled his charming smile and all confusion instantly melted away.

"I believe you, as her teacher, are better qualified to place judgement over this matter…" he said.

"Eeer…" the God of Thunder started, surprised by Loki's sudden chance of attitude, " I think she's as good as ready. She understands the meaning of leadership as well as sacrifice. She can make the right decisions under difficult and stressful circumstances. And, most importantly, people are prepared to follow her, to trust her and obey her…"

Loki smiled. "Then I don't see the problem…"

"I just presumed you needed some convincing…" Thor carefully added, but Loki only smiled.

"She almost slit my throat… I think I'm convinced…"

Thor laughed shortly before both brothers fell in silence again, watching the gaping holes carefully.

"You should be careful, though…" Thor suddenly started again. Loki turned towards his brother.

"With Fandral, I mean…" The God of Thunder continued with a smile. The young king frowned.

"Why?" he asked.

Thor grinned. "It's obvious he's flirting with Arya… the problem is that he still can't see the damage he could do… and a broken heart is a bad guide…"

"What?" Loki asked harshly.

Thor looked up surprise. "What? Isn't that what mother always used to say?"

Loki shook his head. "No.. well yes.. she used to say that, but…. That's not the point! Arya wouldn't fall for that brainle… for Fandral!"

Thor smiled. "Why not? She wouldn't be the first…"

"Well… no.. but…"

Thor sighed. "Who knows… maybe Fandral finally found the right girl…"

"No!" Loki exclaimed. "I mean… Arya?"

Thor pulled up his shoulders. "I don't know… maybe… they seem to get along…."

Yet Loki only shook his head. "No! I don't think … No… Arya's too smart for that…. I don't see it happening… Fandral doesn't deserve her…"

"He doesn't _deserve_ her?" Thor repeated with a smile. "Really? Then who does? You?"

Loki opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out, to Thor's delight.

"N… No, I didn't say that!" the young king finally shouted, sounding frustrated. "I… I.. I just said…"  
Loki sighed in defeat and rubbed his forehead. "Never mind! You're just impossible!"

Thor laughed. "No need to panic, brother… It was just an idea! It's not like I'm the_ love expert_ around here…"

Loki shook his head in frustration and sighed. "Shut up, then… no one's interested!"

Thor only laughed in return. Suddenly an Asgardian ship rose from one of the bigger pit's. After the army had come down again, a dozen or so little flying ships had come along to make descending into the pits a bit easier.

On board of the ship where Fandral and Arya. Once the ship was settled on the ground again, they climbed over board. First Fandral after which he offered Arya a helping hand and a big grin, but the female warrior just leaped over the side of the boat. Fandral said something to the remaining Asgardian knight who was sitting in the boat before the ship set of again, probably to get the rest of the party. Arya and Fandral started walking towards the two brothers, who were doing their very best not to start laughing.

Arya laughed at something Fandral had said when they reached Loki and Thor. She cleared her throat and bowed shortly before locking her gaze with Loki's, her green eyes still filled with sparkling excitement.

"Sire, we found about a dozen bandits down there. Sif's bringing them up as we speak…" she explained while gesturing to the pit where the ship was coming up again, now with six bandits and two Asgardian warriors to guard them, aboard. "We've searched everywhere, but it seems we got them all… for now…"

Loki nodded. "Good job…" he said while trying to keep a serious expression on his face.

Fandral who was playing around with his sword smiled. "So… what do we do with them?" he asked before turning towards the group of six, who had just left the boat, standing behind them. Thor and Loki shared a look.

"Well… according to your beautiful lecture you gave to those bandits earlier, we have to kill them since they didn't turn themselves in…" Thor pointed out.

Fandral scowled and put the point of his sword down. "I wouldn't mind… they're scum! They deserve it!"

Arya threw Fandral an angry glare of disbelief. "Maybe… but it's not entirely fair, is it?"

Fandral looked up. "Fair?" he asked. "It's not like they've been _fair_ to anyone!"

Loki and Thor shared a look. This was so entertaining!

"Yes, I know!" Arya continued calmly, not noticing the staring eyes of her king and prince. "But you can't expect that, just because you told a dozen bandits to turn themselves in, all of the others knew that too! You saw it yourself, some of them didn't even realise they had been overrun. They never even noticed us until we got to them. They never got the chance to turn themselves in…"

Fandral sighed. "You're too naïve! They could be pretending!"

"Or they could not!" Arya immediately added, never losing her calm, yet firm tone. "And by the way, what good would it do to kill them without a trail? How would that make us any better than them?"

Fandral opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Helplessly he looked at Loki and Thor.

The two brothers had been watching their two friends and now shared a look before nodding.

Loki cleared his throat and turned towards Arya, completely ignoring Fandral.

"You really believe they deserve a second chance?" he asked. The female warrior nodded, although she didn't feel as confident as before. Loki's light grey eyes always managed to mess up her mind.

A short silence filled the air. Fandral tried to get Loki's attention but the young king just stared at Arya and the girl tried her best not to break eye contact, until a slight smile formed on her king's lips.

"Very well… good job, Captain!" he said while shortly tapping Arya on the shoulder. The young warrior froze instantly. Only when Thor shook her hand and also tapped her shoulder, making her legs crack dangerously, she realised what Loki had said.

"Congratulations, Arya! I'm sure you'll do great!" Thor shouted excitedly.

Arya wanted to say something, but no words found their way through her suddenly sore throat and dry mouth. Somewhere she noticed Fandral standing next to her, staring from Thor to her and back, but it didn't really bother her.

"C… Captain… my lord?" she finally managed to say.

Thor and Loki grinned widely.

"Yes, of course!" Thor answered. "You didn't think I was going to keep following orders from my little brother, did you?"

Loki threw his brother a scowl before turning back to Arya with a smile. "Once we're back on Asgard we'll make it official…" he said. Arya just stared back in awe, not fully grasping reality.

"Yes.. yes.. my lord… sire… thank you…" she stuttered.

A deep, melodramatic sigh sounded from next to her. Fandral looked from one person to the next, faking his disgust until a cheeky smile coloured his face.

"Congratulations, my Captain!" he said while picking up Arya's fingers to place a playful kiss on the back of her hand.

"Give up, Fandral!" Sif's voice suddenly sounded from behind them. Everyone turned to find Sif, followed by a dozen bandits and three Asgardian warriors, march their way.

Fandral threw her a childish glare while letting go of Arya's hand.

"Show your new Captain some respect, Lady Sif!" he shouted back.

Sif's eyebrows shot into the air when she came to a stop next to her friends. She glared at Arya who still seemed quite in shock and smiled.

"About time we had another female in command!" she said proudly. Arya smiled back.

Thor filled Sif in on Arya's first decision as Captain. The female warrior nodded in agreement. She turned towards the other Asgardian knights and told them to take the prisoners back to Asgard.

Once the group had past them, Loki let out a long sigh.

"I guess we can go back than…" he said. Yet no one but Thor seemed to share his excitement to go back home. A sudden silence had fallen over Sif, Fandral and Arya. They kept glaring at each other as if waiting for one another to say something. Loki frowned.

"What is it?" he asked sternly.

Again the three warriors only looked at each other.

Loki let out an irritated sigh. He was getting tired, not to mention really hungry. "Arya!" he demanded. "Tell me what's wrong!"

The young Captain turned towards her king and bid her lip.

"While we were down there we found … something else, sire…" she eventually said. Loki and Thor shared a look.

"And what might that _something else _be?" Loki asked.

Again, Arya first shared a look with Fandral and Sif before answering. It seemed all three of them weren't too keen to tell Loki this.

"We found a room, we believe it to be some sort of treasure room…"

Arya fell silent and Loki started getting annoyed. "Yes?" he asked harshly.

Thor quickly decided to act before Loki would lose his temper.

"What did you find in this room?" The God of Thunder asked.

A short silence filled the air.

"Stolen treasure, mostly…" Fandral suddenly answered. "Probably from the villagers, but also gold, lots of it… And also…"

"A scroll…" Sif finally finished.

"A scroll?" Loki asked, not understanding why his friends were acting like this. They almost seemed scared.

"Yes…" Arya confirmed.

"What's so special about this scroll?" Thor asked before his brother got the chance.

"We… we believe this scroll contains some sort of magic…" Sif explained. Her eyes immediately fixed on Loki. Thor followed her stare. He was starting to understand. He and his friends knew better than anyone else how much Loki loved magic and power and how easy he was persuaded.

Thor carefully scanned his brother for any sign of creepy craving. For a second Loki's eyes seemed to light up, but it disappeared as fast it came.

"Did you bring this scroll?" Loki eventually asked a lot calmer now.

"No… we didn't think it safe…" Arya managed to say. She'd noticed some kind of new hunger on her king's face and she didn't like it in the slightest. This was exactly what Sif and Fandral had warned her for when they had discovered the scroll.

Everyone waited for Loki's reaction. Finally the young king smiled.

"Of course… a wise decision…" he said. "Just one question: how did you know it was magic?"

"We…err.." Arya started. "We… we felt it…"

A new flash lit up Loki's light grey eyes. For someone who didn't practise magic, it was rather uncommon to feel its power this intense. The young king smiled shortly. "No kidding…" he said. "That must be some powerful scroll…"

Arya tried to smile, but Loki was giving her the creeps. She glanced over at Thor who slowly nodded.

"Loki…" the God Of Thunder started. "Maybe it's better to leave it…."

But the young king snapped his head towards his brother. "No!" he shouted. Everyone took a step back and Loki realised he'd gone too far. He quickly smiled and continued a bit calmer."It wouldn't be wise to leave something that powerful unguarded. I will inspect this scroll and then we'll take it back to Asgard."

Loki waited for a reaction, but everyone just stood there.

"Shall we?" the young king asked before taking the lead towards the lonely boat, still waiting next to a dark hole.

Everyone else looked at each other, not able to hide the upcoming fear in their eyes.

Thor sighed. "Just keep a watchful eye…" he said before following his brother. The other's did the same.

-xxx-

"There we are…" Fandral said almost sadly. Loki walked past Fandral into the next room.

"Okay…" he said after a short observation. His friends hadn't been lying. This was indeed a treasure room. And it was huge! Everywhere Loki looked he could see towers of pots and chests overflowing with gold. Golden coins, golden goblets, but also silver and tons of precious stones. Next to that, the room was stacked with paintings, books and other treasure which probably belonged to the villagers. In the far corner Loki could see and also feel the scroll his friends had been talking about. It didn't look like much. It was just a scroll, about one metre tall, tied together with a simple dark red ribbon, grey and filthy from laying in the cave. The young king could feel a powerful magic radiating in waves from the scroll. He almost couldn't keep his eyes from it. Now this was power!

Unfortunately, Loki was forced to tear his eyes away because something else in the room was a little bit more urgent now. Everyone stared at the lonely hooded form in the opposite corner of the room. It obviously was a bandit and right now he seemed to be in the process of fitting as much gold and silver into his pockets and the two tiny chest next to him. He didn't seem to notice he had company.

Loki shared a look with his friends before taking a step forward. He had to do his best to keep his attention on the bandit.

He cleared his throat and the clinking sounds of gold faded away through the air. The bandit turned around.

"I do hope we're not interrupting… " Loki said. The bandit's hand disappeared in his pocket before revealing a short brown straw. He brought it too his lips and blew hard at the end. A tiny, sharp dart raced through the air before burying itself in the thick dark leather of Loki's armour.

Loki slowly looked down and pulled the dart from his shoulder where it had left nothing more than a tiny, almost invisible hole in his clothing. The bandit turned pale.

"Well that was embarrassing…" Loki said after dropping the dart to the floor. He fixed his attention back on the bandit and smiled.

"Didn't you get our message?" he asked with fake kindness. "You were supposed to turn yourself in…"

The bandit jumped to his feet and started running in the opposite direction where another exit was hidden behind a pile of stolen weapons. However, before he even got the chance to escape, Loki appeared right in front of him. The bandit stumbled back, right in the arms of Fandral and Sif who forced him on his knees.

Loki's illusion dissolved and the real Loki slowly walked past Sif and Fandral to face the bandit.

"Please, please, my lord!" the bandit begged. "I swear I won't ever get involved in this kind of business! I promise you I will run away and I will never return! You have my word! Please! Have mercy!"

Loki lifted his hand and the bandit turned silent. For a couple of seconds Loki seemed to consider the man's words.

Suddenly the young king turned around, finally giving in to the enormous power of the scroll. Slowly he walked over to the other corner, not noticing how everyone in the room was staring at him.

Loki kneeled before the scroll and smiled while letting his hand hover over the raw paper. The hairs on the back of hand straightened up. The power was so intense, Loki lost all notion of the world around him for a moment until he suddenly heard his name. Thor...

Loki blinked and shook his head. He knew he had to be careful. Slowly he closed his hand around the scroll, somewhere expecting to be thrown back, but nothing happened. With one swift move Loki turned around and got to his feet, now holding the scroll in his right hand. An almost kind smile formed on his lips.

Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for Loki's reaction.

"Tell me…" the young king started while going back in his steps towards the frightened bandit on the floor. "What exactly is this?" he asked, waving around with the scroll.

The bandit looked up, a flash of fear and recognition shooting through his dark eyes.

"I don't know!" he lied. A sudden grin formed on his face. "But maybe I'll remember when you let me go…"

Loki laughed shortly, all kindness had disappeared. "It doesn't' work like that, my friend…" he said while kneeling in front of the bandit. "Let me make one thing crystal-clear! The only reason why you are still alive is because you're of use to me. Once I notice you are in fact completely useless, I'll just kill you! So I suggest you find a meaning for your existence in the next couple of minutes or your _existence _might end rather abruptly."

The bandit obviously was scared, but he forced a challenging smile on his face. "I don't reveal secrets of my brothers!" he said before spitting into Loki's face. The young king closed his eyes and sighed while getting to his feet again and rubbing his face dry.

"You shouldn't have done that…" he said in a loud whisper. With one quick move Loki stretched out his left arm and opened his fingers. The bandit was pulled too his feet by an invisible force and thrown back against the wall, making a tower of jars filled with sliver and diamonds collapse on top of him. The terrified man looked down to find himself dangling a few inches above the ground with an incredible force crushing his chest against the wall.

"Loki!" Thor shouted, but his the young king stopped him.

"He just needs a little persuasion, brother…" he said while walking towards the flying bandit. "Again!" he shouted in his face. "What do you know about this scroll? Where did you steal it!"

"I don't know, I swear!" the bandit cried out, but Loki, who was trained to see through lies, new better.

A creepy smile formed on the young king's lips. With a simple gesture of his fingers, three golden coins flew in his palm and started floating in between his dancing fingers.

"You know what so funny about gold?" he asked to no one in particular while taking a few steps closer to the bandit until their faces were only inches apart.

"It can kill you in so many ways…" the young king answered his own question. His eyes darkened for a second. "For example… I could bury you under your precious gold until it crushes you alive, or if you're lucky you suffocate first."

Loki waited a few seconds to make sure his words had effect.

"But I could be a little more creative and make you eat it! Coin by coin... until you choke on gold! Wouldn't that be something?"

The bandit tried to turn away from the young king's burning eyes but Loki's strong magical grip made that impossible.

"Or maybe..." the young king continued. "I could melt it and give you a beautiful scorching golden skin! Would you like that!" Even before the words had left Loki's lips, the three coins floating above his hand started bubbling and boiling, making a loud hissing noise.

The young king took a step back and stretched out his arm. The boiling coins slowly drifted towards the bandit's pale sweating face.

"Wait! Wait, sire!" he pleaded just before the precious metal touched his skin. Loki looked up, the coins stopped but kept floating in front of the bandits face. Boiling and hissing...

"We found that scroll a long time ago, when we first got here!" the bandit cried out in terror. "Our General knew about the Dark Elf ships in the Dark Mountains and wanted to dump them in the water so that the river would turn us invisible! We set off to the mountains and we found this cave…"

"Go on!" Loki shouted angrily when the bandit paused to take a deep, shaking breath.

"The...the cave had probably been buried for years, but because of an earthquake it must have been opened again."

Loki nodded. He knew the Dark Mountains were ravaged by frequent earthquakes.

"In this cave…" the bandit continued. "We found old runes no one could understand. We found lots of old relics and tons of gold ad also this scroll. We didn't think it was important until that man, The Other, came to claim it for his master, Thanos…"

Loki frowned. A cold shiver ran down his spine. For a second he even forgot to be creepy.

"Thanos?" he asked in a scared whisper. "What did he want with it?"

The bandit noticed Loki's fear and almost made the mistake of trying to use it against the young king, but a another set of three boiling coins right next to his eye made him change his mind.

"You were saying?" Loki asked wrathfully.

The bandit swallowed. "I don't know, I swear… Our General didn't know either, but he wanted payment for the scroll…"

"I though The Other was here for me…" Loki asked.

The bandit nodded. "Yes, yes… he was … but he also wanted the scroll…"

"And you're sure he didn't mention for what he might have needed it? Or his master?"

"No, no… I swear it, my lord! Please! That's all I know! Please!"

Loki watched the bandit for a couple of seconds, but had to admit he was telling the truth. With a deep sigh, the young king lowered his hand. The coins immediately stopped boiling and dropped to the ground as well as the terrified bandit. Gasping for breath and too scared to stand up, the bandit remained on his knees.

Loki swallowed and forced the dark spots covering his view to disappear. He was asking too much of himself. The magic was starting to drain him.

"Take him away!" he ordered Fandral and Sif. The two warriors immediately obeyed and dragged the bandit to his feet.

"Thank you, my lord!" he shouted while the two Asgardians forced towards the exit. "Your mercy has no equal! Thank you my lord!"

Loki wasn't listening. He rubbed his eyes and sucked a shaky breath into his lungs.

"Loki?" Thor's voice sounded behind him. When the young king didn't respond, he tried to take the scroll, but Loki's strong grip made that impossible.

The young king turned around, forcing a smile on his face to hide his exhaustion. Slowly he lifted the scroll and untied the red ribbon. The paper rolled down, revealing a mixture of dark runes, drawings and numbers.

A deep frown appeared on Loki's forehead while his eyes scanned the scroll. Thor took a deep breath and joined his brother.

"Can you read it?" he finally asked.

Loki didn't answer right away, but just kept staring at the paper. Arya joined them too.

"No…" Loki eventually answered sounding almost disappointed. Thor shook his head. This couldn't be good. If Loki didn't know what these runes meant… then who would? Thor didn't know anyone who had read more books in a lifetime than Loki.

"Do you think it's magic…" Arya asked.

Loki smiled. "Oh, it is magic all right… and some powerful magic too… the most powerful I've ever felt…"

Both Arya and Thor expected to hear that creepy hungry tone they'd heard before, but Loki seemed really serious now.

"I can't read it…" Loki continued while letting the paper slip through his fingers so he could read the rest. "But it does mention Heimdall's name here…"

"Heimdall?" Thor asked in surprise. He followed Loki's pointing finger and found a set of meaningless runes.

"How do you know that's Heimdall's name?" he asked.

Loki sighed. "Because I recognise this! These same runes are written everywhere in the Bifröst! You just need to know where to look. Mother once told me they stood for Heimdall's name…"

"Mother could read these?" Thor asked in disbelief. But Loki shook his head.

"No… she just knew… she told me these runes date from the Beginning…"

Thor turned silent.

"So…" Arya suddenly started in disbelief. "That would mean that this scroll dates from the same period… the Beginning of Everything…"

Loki smiled. "Exactly…"

* * *

**I hope you liked it ;)**

**Please let me know!**

**Please review, eat lots of chocolate and make your ancestors proud... ;p**

**Rumple x**


	42. Chapter 41

**So... Here I am... Not killed by angry readers, no abduction by aliens, no secret doors leading to Narnia in my room,... so basically I don't have any reason or excuse to justify my absence... Except _school_ of course... I AM SO SORRY! There, I said it... I know it doesn't help, but I said it...  
And you're not even reading this, are you?**

** Enough excuses, time to read! ENJOY!**

**WARNING! I use a story in this chapter, a story about creation... This is NOT based on the original Norse mythology (or any religion or mythology for that matter)! NOT AT ALL! Just to be clear...**

* * *

_**Chapter 41**_

"Mummy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I go ride a horse?"

Jane looked up from her breakfast and was greeted by two enormous puppy eyes staring at her from across the table. A smile appeared on her face.

"Why would you want to ride a horse?"

"Sif said she learned how to ride a horse when she was about my height… She wants to teach me! Please! Please! Please!"

Jane glanced along the table and found Lady Sif, surrounded by Arya and the Worriers Three sitting a bit further. Laughter and shouts filled the air while the female warrior interrupted Fandral's heroic version of what had happened in _The Labyrinth of Vanaheim_ as it was called now. With a smile Jane turned back to her daughter.

"I don't know, Frigga… Sif already lived for about a hundred years or so when she was _your height_…"

A deep sigh sounded over the table and Frigga sank back in her seat, putting her elbows on the table so she could rest her head in her hands.

"But that's not fair, mummy!" the little girl complained. "When I'm a hundred years old all horses will just run away from my ugly oldness…"

Jane shook her head.

"Morning…" a low friendly voice sounded. Jane looked up and was caught in a soft kiss.

"Daddy! Don't be gross!" Frigga said in a loud whisper.

Thor laughed and sat down next to his wife while putting his two overflowing plates on the table. The God of Thunder noticed his wife's disapproving look and innocently pulled up his shoulders.

Jane sighed. "It's not because Vanaheim is supplying food again, you can just stuff yourself like crazy!"

Thor smiled sheepishly and didn't notice his daughter silently stealing some grapes from his plate.

"Someone has to eat on Loki's behalf!" Thor answered. Jane shook her head, while a sudden worried expression covered her face.

"That's exactly what Volstagg said half an hour ago!" she continued while gesturing to the warrior who was still working his way through a plate filled with fruit.

Thor picked a piece of bread from his own breakfast and took a big bite.

"Volstagg eats on everyone's behalf…" he answered with a grin, again not noticing how Frigga grabbed another hand of juicy grapes.

A short silence covered table.

"So…" Jane asked. "Still nothing?"

A deep frown appeared on Thor's forehead. He put his bread down and shook his head. Jane and Frigga sighed at the same moment.

"Oh well…" Thor tried cheering them up. "What do you do about it… it's Loki…"

The three of them fell in silence again until Jane remembered her earlier conversation with Frigga. She turned to her husband, who had started eating his way through a piece of toast covered with eggs.

"Your daughter wants to ride a horse! What do you think about that?" she said with a meaningful look.

With a mouthful of egg, Thor turned to his wife and afterwards faced his daughter who had put on her begging puppy eyes once more.

"Great!" he shouted, but after a quick glance on Jane's face he changed to: "I mean… really?"

Jane sighed and rubbed her forehead. " 'Really?' That's all you have to say?"

Thor watched his wife, not really knowing what to say next.

"Is… is riding a horse a … bad thing?" he finally asked. Jane's eyes almost popped out of her face.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

Thor quickly nodded. "Yes of course!" he shouted while turning back to Frigga who didn't really know what to think of this conversation. Thor forced an angry frown on his face. "Yes, Frigga, riding a horse is not a good idea because…"

Frigga's eyebrows slowly found their way up her forehead while her father hopelessly searched for words. Jane sighed.

"Because it is dangerous!" she finished throwing a look of disbelief towards her husband. Thor's mouth opened in understanding.

"Yes, because it's dangerous! Very dangerous!" he repeated until…

"Wait…" The God of Thunder added with a frown. "I ride a horse…"

"Well.. yes.. but…" Jane stuttered. "You.. you are… were…"

With another deep sigh she turned back to her daughter.

"Listen Frigga… Take your father, or take Sif for that matter… when they fall of a horse, they barely get hurt, but that doesn't count for us… for you…"

Thor, who had been listening to his wife's every word suddenly understood. He hadn't even thought about that… Frigga and Jane had been on Asgard for such a long time, it almost seemed they'd never lived somewhere else. He also looked up to his daughter.

"She has a point, darling…." he admitted. Slowly all excitement melted from the little girl's face.

"But…" she started, until she was interrupted by a sudden uproar. Everyone turned to the door, the source of the noise. Loki came rushing in like a lunatic, waving around the dusty, ancient scroll. He rushed over to the table displaying all the food, picked an apple, put his teeth in it, grabbed a piece of bread and sprinted towards the family of three watching him in utter surprise. With one jump he leaped past Frigga, on the table, crossed it while kicking all glasses and plates aside and jumped back of the table, right in between Thor and Jane before sitting down and taking a mighty bite out of his apple. The young king slapped the scroll on the table and rolled it open. Everyone in the room stared at their king for a moment, but since he was their king, no one dared to say anything and wisely decided to continue eating. Nevertheless, Loki didn't seem to notice any of that. He just kept unrolling the scroll until Frigga was forced to leave her spot. The inquisitive girl ducked under the table and crawled to the other side to join her parents.

"I did it! I did it!" Loki exclaimed in a hoarse but exciting tone. Jane and Thor shared a look.

"I did it!" the young king repeated. "I translated it all!"

Loki hit the table, making all the glasses rattle. He looked at Thor and Jane, beaming like an excited child waiting for a compliment.

Now that both parents got a better look on the young king they couldn't do anything but being shocked. Loki was paler than ever before and dark circles were visible under his now almost silver eyes. His raven hair was one big mess and even his clothes seemed a bit raggedy. In the meantime Frigga ducked from underneath the table and climbed in Loki's lap. The young king didn't seem to mind.

"Loki…" Thor started after sharing a worried look with his wife. "Don't tell me you spend the last three days in the library without sleeping or anything proper to eat.

Loki smiled an almost crazy smile and turned his attention back on the scroll.

"I translated it all!" he repeated, ignoring Thor's question. "And this…" he said while gesturing to the scroll. "is downright marvellous!"

"What's all this funny writing?" Frigga suddenly interrupted. Her beautiful young face was covered in a deep frown.

Loki looked at the little girl in his lap and threw his arms around her in a short, excited hug.

"This…" he started mysteriously. "is a spell…"

Frigga's eyes started sparkling for the third time that morning.

"What is it for?" she asked.

Loki licked his lips and took a deep breath. "This is not just any spell…" he started in a hoarse voice. "It's the oldest one possible! The oldest form of magic in the universe!"

Now also Jane's interest was awoken. She stretched her neck and took a better look at the ancient scroll on the table. Loki continued.

"When I said Heimdall was mentioned in this scroll, I didn't realise the importance of that…."

Thor frowned, but decided not to interrupt.

"As you know..." Loki continued while looking at his brother, "Heimdall was, according to the legend, one of the first to be created."

Thor nodded. "Yes, mother told us the stories…"

Loki smiled mysteriously and put his fingers on the scroll.

"We never knew much, did we? Just what mother told us… what any Asgardian knows!"

Thor slowly nodded. The young king laughed, a short crazy sound.

"This is all the rest! This fills up the dark spots, the gabs in history! This is history, Thor! _The _ultimate history! Our history, our existence all started... with this!"

"It doesn't look like history to me…" Frigga suddenly interrupted. "More like Chinese or something…"

Loki frowned shortly, wondering what Chinese was, but he was too excited to care.

Thor on the other hand had to agree with his daughter. Loki was speaking in riddles.

The God of Thunder shook his head in confusion. "I'm sorry, but I'm not following… How can this scroll be _our history_?"

Loki laughed again. "This scroll tells the story of The Beginning!"

"I thought you said it was a spell?" Jane interrupted, but after one angry look of the young king she shut up.

"A part of it, yes…" Loki said slightly annoyed before continuing his story.

"This scroll tells us _how_ Heimdall was created, what the universe looked like _before_ him…"

Now even Thor couldn't hide his curiosity. He bend a bid closer let his eyes scan the scroll on the table while Loki carried on.

"The scroll speaks of Them…" the young king said with a frown above his tired silver eyes. "Whoever wrote this doesn't really specify their race… were They mortal, immortal… were They like us… I don't know. It's just _Them_." Loki paused for a second and found the same confused expression on his listeners faces, but no one asked any questions.

_Good…_he thought. _I'm way too tired for stupid people!_

"So, according to the scroll, these 'lifeforms' designed the universe. The First Universe! And what's so interesting about that.." Loki suddenly shouted in excitement while searching the scroll with his finger until it stopped at a certain drawing of eight circles, all connected with thin lines.

"What's so mind blowing is… that the First Universe looked a lot more different than the one we know today!"

The young king looked up, his light eyes sparkling with so much excitement that his exhaustion almost disappeared.

Jane licked her lips and pointed at the circles. She was careful not to touch the paper. For some reason she had the feeling it wasn't supposed to be touched by a mortal. For the first time since her arrival on Asgard she felt extremely tiny and unimportant as if the scroll had some kind of superiority over the rest of the universe.

"Eight circles…" she said while searching eye contact with the young king. An action she immediately regretted because Loki's almost sliver gaze send shivers down her spine. "What do they mean? Do they represent the universe… the First one I mean…"

Loki laughed and nodded like a young child. Thor raised his eyebrows.

"That can't be right…" he noticed. All eyes turned on him. Thor waited a couple of seconds before answering, just to make sure he wasn't going to sound like a complete foul.

"I suppose those circled represent the worlds, the realms… Right?"

It stayed silent for a second. Jane raised her eyebrows, impressed that Thor had made that link even before she had. Of course he probably should have anyway… Otherwise that would have been a rather awkward moment for the Asgardian mind…

Nevertheless, Jane wasn't so sure… last time she checked there had been nine worlds. Also Frigga was lost in thoughts, counting the worlds Arya had told her about on her fingertips. Nine.. without fail. Everyone looked up at Loki, waiting for him to clear things up.

A big crazy grin appeared on the young kings face. "Apparently your stay with a scientist has activated the grey substance in your head… also known as your brain, brother…"

Thor sighed and rolled his eyes. Jane smiled shortly.

"Like I said.." Loki continued mysteriously. "The Universe looked quite different…"

The young king took another bite from his juicy apple and took a grape from Frigga which she had just stolen from her father's plate.

"The scroll says that They created the eight realms, only connected by the universe they existed in. Midgard, Jötunheim, Vanaheim, Svartalfheim, Ljossalfheim and so on, but no Asgard…"

Loki waited a couple of seconds. The disbelief on everyone's face was a perfect reflection of what he had thought when he'd finally managed to decipher the first parts of the scroll. The young king licked his lips and continued.

"Unfortunately, the realms couldn't coexist. The species developing on the worlds were different. Humans, Giants, Dwarfs, Elves… It even says here", Loki said while pointing at some meaningless writing, "that They saw this as a first mistake in their design."

Jane shook her head. "A mistake?" she asked. "But that's nature…"

Loki nodded. "And that's what went wrong… Nature… I think you can best see it as an error in a program… a bit like…" Loki bit his lip while he searched for a better example. "A bit like getting tired when you're working. When you're working, you're producing something, mostly something of value… but you get tired, so you have to rest. And in the time needed for resting, you can't produce your item of value…The need to rest is an error!"

"But that's…" Jane started, but Loki finished.

"Nature!" he said with a big smile. "In this case nature was the error. An extra product they didn't count on and it started doing its own thing. Think about it… if your strong enough to build the universe than a 'mistake', an 'unforeseen product' is on itself quite strong and unstoppable."

Jane slowly nodded. She had difficulty with accepting another creation theory… From her point of view everything was created by science… the Big Bang. Yet, maybe this 'legend' was just another way of seeing things. Maybe these life forms… these Creators were just a personification of The Big Bang. After all, she knew better than anyone else the universe was so much stranger and darker than humankind initially, already, thought.

"Anyway… nature started doing its own thing and created different species, in different times, with different capabilities. Now, what else is interesting is that magical capabilities weren't mentioned. For example: the scroll does not speak of 'The Frost Giants', but only of 'The Giants'. I thought this strange until I found something further down the scroll."

Loki unrolled and pouched the scroll over the table so he could get to the right part which was currently dangling just above his feet.

"So… the worlds were at chaos… the species knew of each other's existence and tried to conquer each other's worlds… Quite normal behaviour when you're a species in development… Now, it goes without saying that the species that developed fastest and was the strongest had more chances at surviving and winning. In the end it came down to the an enormous war between the Giants, The Elves, and a minority of the Dwarfs. Most human species had been exterminated or were still in the first stadia of evolution and barely a threat."

"But how did they travel between the realms?" Jane interrupted. "If Asgard didn't exist, there was no Bifröst either…"

Loki nodded. "Exactly my thoughts…" he said, but a deep frown covered his face. "It's never really mentioned how they travelled." the young king explained while letting his eyes float over the strange words and drawings.

"Of course, if we look at this…" he pointed at the drawing of the eight connected circles, "we see that the worlds were somehow connected. The only notion of connection on this scroll is the universe, but maybe the first species were also a part of the universe, maybe they could travel across it without problem, as if they were crossing a road."

A deep silence fell over the table, until a soft voice sounded through the air.

"Maybe they had space ships…" Frigga said, still staring at the scroll.

All eyes fixed on the girl.

"In fact…" Loki started after another long silence. "that's always a possibility…"

"The Dark Elves have space ships…" Thor joined in.

"And the humans are making their first…" Jane added. "Who says they didn't do that before?"

Thor and Jane shared a look before both fixing on the scroll again.

"Do they mention a duration somewhere? How long the eight realms existed without Asgard?"

Loki shook his head. "No, at least I haven't found any… but it's possible… I suppose Time was relative back then. Everything was new, only starting. I wouldn't be surprised if They could control Time…"

Thor softly whistled between his teeth.

"Anyway!" Jane suddenly shouted. "What happened after that war? I still don't see how Asgard fits into all this…"

Loki nodded. "Right… Now They, these creators saw that their 'project' was failing. In the beginning They didn't interfere… After all it seemed like one species would win and the problem Nature had brought would be solved. Unfortunately even the Creators had to accept that even within the same species, wars were raging. They had to do something, so They decided to put another power in charge of the eight realms. From this we can decide that these Creators weren't a physical life form, like us. Or maybe They were, but They didn't live in our universe, but were steering us from another, older universe. Nevertheless, They decided to hand over the rule of these worlds to something else. In this case, another world."

Jane and Thor smiled and even Frigga understood.

"Asgard!" she called out excitedly.

Loki smiled. "Exactly! According to this scroll Asgard was created together with Heimdall. Heimdall created the Bifröst which connected the worlds and brought peace to the realms. Of course he couldn't rule the realms on his own. Therefore he created, together with Them the Asgardians. Yet, to ensure that this race, The Asgardians, would have ultimate power, the Creators decided to bless them with immortality. To obtain this amount of power, Heimdall instructed the eight realms each to create a stone from its ancient core…"

Loki's eyes sparkled for a second and Thor and Jane immediately understood what Loki was referring too.

"The infinity Stones…" Thor whispered while a shiver ran down his spine. Jane scowled for a second. Even Frigga, who didn't understand her parent's reaction, felt an uncomfortable chill in the air.

Suddenly Jane shook her head. "Wait… no… if Heimdall instructed every realm to make one stone, how come that there're only six?"

Loki smiled mysteriously. "Because, Jane Foster, Midgard didn't turn anything in, since the human race had been exterminated. The only ones capable of making such a stone were the direct descendants of the First Humans, the ones created by the Creators."

"All right…" Jane answered, not able to hide the terror and disgust in her voice. Loki made it sound like the humans were insignificant and as if they had been too stupid to let the 'important ones' die.

"That only makes seven, were did the other one go?"

"The other one," Loki continued, "was created by the Jötuns. Sadly, they didn't agree with the idea of one ultimate ruler. In the War, the Jötuns had been on the winning team. In fact they had been close to victory when they had been sucked back to their home world and the borders between the realms had been closed for ever. The Giants created a stone, as they were told to do, but instead of turning it in, they unleashed it's power on their own world. With it they developed the power to control ice, and their infamous casket, the source of their power, was created. Even until today, that casket holds a part of what was once an almighty Infinity Stone. The Giants became the Frost Giants."

Loki waited to make sure everyone was still listening, but the looks on the people's faces didn't leave any doubt so the young king carried on with his personal favourite part of the story.

"However, The Jötuns quickly discovered that they had underestimated the power of the Infinity Stone. They were unable to control and contain the energy and it spread throughout the universe. Even the barrier of the Bifröst, which had been created before the power of the Infinity Stones, couldn't stop it. And so, completely unintentionally, The Jötuns brought a new power to the universe."

The young king looked from one face to the next. The enthusiasm in his eyes reached a maximum.

"Magic!"

Loki got exactly the reaction he had been hoping for. Utter surprise!

Thor shook his head in disbelief. "The Jötuns!" he called out. "The Jötuns 'invented' magic?"

Loki tilted his head to one side. "Well, actually, they unleashed it. I think the First Creators used magic to build the eight realms. For them it was probably just a tool like any other. It's possible that we just found a new, another way of using it. We channel it, and turn it into power!"

"That's… That's amazing!" Jane suddenly said, excitement colouring her eyes. She sounded out of breath. "That is truly amazing! Unbelievable!"

It stayed silent for a couple of seconds…

"So… what was this spell you were talking about?" Thor finally asked. Loki looked up, as if he'd almost forgotten about that.

"Right! The spell! Well… it's obvious, isn't it! The spell needed to gain immortality! The six remaining stones held enough power to make the spell work. Almost… Because instead of eight stones, Heimdall and the creators only had six. The spell still worked, though, but never reached its full potential. After all, we are not immortal, as the Allfather liked reminding us. The Asgardians are stronger, should be wiser…" Loki said with a playful look towards his brother, "and we get older. But we are not immortal, because there were two stones missing."

"And what happened to these Creators?" Thor asked .

"They disappeared… that what it says here. Once the Asgardians held the ultimate power to rule, being the_ wanne-be-immortalit_y, they were left alone in charge."

Silence covered the table once more. From one moment to the other, Loki felt an unbelievably strong exhaustion covering his body. His hands lost grip on his breakfast which fell to the ground like leaves falling from a tree. All sounds started fading and his head started pounding. Loki groaned. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Frigga looked up when she hurt the young king's silent moans. She only just managed to roll of Loki's lap, under the table, before the young king collapsed, head first, on the table.

Unfortunately for Fandral, who had just decided to entertain his new crowd of admiring girls with some life battle demonstrations, Loki's head hit the edge of Thor's half-filled plate and catapulted the entire content into his face.

-xxx-

"Don't you see, Thor! This is it! This is our chance!"

Thor carefully closed the door of Loki's chambers. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. Even though it was only ten in the morning, he already felt exhausted.

"Jane, let's just leave it for now…" he said more harshly then he meant. His wife sighed and frowned.

"The least we can do is talk about it…" she exclaimed. "I mean… this is big stuff! This is our chance!" she repeated.

Thor stroke his hand through his blond hairs started walking. Jane followed.

"You just cannot ignore this, Thor!" she said with a stern tone in her voice. Clearly she was finding Thor lack of interest very frustrating.

The God of Thunder sighed once more. He opened his mouth to answer, but the words didn't find their way through.

That was the last drop for Jane. "You just don't want to think about it, do you! Why not! You're just afraid that this won't work! You're afraid to believe that this is possible!"

Thor stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Jane, I only ask you to wait…"

But Jane interrupted him. "This is our chance, Frigga's and my chance to gain immortality! If this spell still works… if it was possible… Loki can do magic! Maybe he can do this spell! Maybe we can grow old together, Thor! Isn't that what you want? Because now… now you'll see me grow old, see Frigga grow up. In the end we will both die and you… you won't have changed a day! This is your family!"

Tears had started to form in Jane's eyes. She didn't want to cry, but she was simply so devastated by the idea of losing Thor. Her life, her daughter's life.. it all seemed so puny, so unimportant! This spell could be her only chance to gain the impossible. Immortality… the ability to stay with the man she loved, without worrying about leaving him behind for another thousand years.

"I know, Jane, I know… I just think we shouldn't rush to making conclusions… Loki probably figured this much out. He knows how important this is. He doesn't want to lose Frigga either… There must be a reason why he didn't mention this possibility. I think, no, I just know he hasn't told us everything. If we wait, I'm sure everything will clear out in the end."

Jane looked up in her husband's bright blue eyes. She knew he was right. Of course he was… Slowly she let her head rest against Thor's chest while her arms found their way around him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

_This moment…_she thought while Thor's strong arms closed around her. _This moment is mine! My life… with Thor… with Frigga… The most important life in human history! Just like everyone else's is…_

* * *

**So I hope you liked it! I am trying to write, but I've got sooooo much work and sooooo little time... BUT I'M TRYING! BECAUSE I LOVE IT!**

**Please let me know what you think!**

**Rumple x**


	43. Chapter 42

**Hi! It took some time and, i've got to be honest... it's not that long... I'm sorry! You guys deserve better, but... I'm having so much work for school (weeping...) **

**Anyway, ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 42**_

Jane sighed and glanced over at the young king sitting in a comfortable chair, just outside the light of the dancing flames in the middle of the common room. Loki was reading… as he had been doing for the last week since the discovery of the scroll and the spell. The spell that could change Jane and Frigga's life forever. Ever since, Jane hadn't been able to forget about the idea of gaining immortality. Not because she thought it fun… on the contrary, she couldn't even grasp the reality of living for thousands of years… but this was her chance to stay with Thor! To grow old together with the man she loved and lived for.

Unfortunately, every time she tried to confront Loki with her thoughts, the young king found an excuse the wave her of. Or he didn't have time…. or he was going to practise… or he was tired…. or he had to talk to Heimdall… or the Lords had urgent matters to discuss… or he simply ignored her…

Yet every time he told her the same thing. The spell wasn't all clear to him yet… he wasn't sure how to make it work… he was looking into it… but he would let her know as a soon as he found something! Nothing to worry about, Jane!

Jane sighed again and fixed her gaze on the flames. Her thoughts drifted away. Even the loud and excited laughs of Lady Sif and Arya, who were walking around the common room, couldn't get to her…

_Poppycock… _she thought with an angry scowl. The spell had been quit clear to him when they'd filled Lady Sif, Arya and the Warriors Three in.

The five warriors had been all ears while excitement and surprise coloured their faces. Apparently the scroll spoke of a potion. Water from the Well of Wyrd, an ancient pool on Asgard of which the water touched the roots of Yggdrasil itself, combined with the power of the infinity stones could bestow immortal life upon the one who drank it. Nevertheless, there was a safe keep. Of course only someone with knowledge of magic could perform the spell, besides that only the King of Asgard could make it work. The spell needed the power of the infinity stones, but they didn't need to be on Asgard itself. Their power reached out far across the universe.

_What else information do you need?_ Jane thought, but Loki just didn't give in. Jane sighed… she really couldn't see what the problem was… of all people she expected Loki to be most keen to try this new and strong form of magic.

A sudden warm hand woke her from her thoughts. Jane looked up, startled, but quickly relaxed when she saw the smiling face of her husband. Behind him, The Warriors Three entered the common room as well.

"Vanaheim just loves me!" Fandral announced. Volstagg rolled his eyes and sank down on the first chair he could find. That morning they'd travelled to Vanaheim to check how things were going. Of course Heimdall could answer that question easily, but Arya had decided that it was friendlier to greet the Vanaheimers in person and who was better for that job than the prince of Asgard.

Jane smiled and allowed Thor to plant a soft kiss on her lips before he set down next to her.

"I take it everything went well?" she said.

Thor smiled widely and spread his arms over the back of the chair.

"Splendid… nothing to worry about!"

Jane sighed and let her head sink on Thor's shoulder. Now that Arya had taken over his duties as Captain of the Guard, Thor finally had more time for his family and Jane could feel her husband was a lot more relaxed all together.

"Frigga already went to bed?" Thor asked after a short silence.

"Yes…" Jane answered shortly while her thoughts from before started racing through her mind again.

Thor noticed it and looked down on his wife.

"Something the matter?" he asked with frown.

Jane bit her lip. In fact she didn't really feel like talking about this right now. Thor was in such a good and relaxed mood. Everything was going fine…

"It's just this spell…" the distressed mother started.

Before Thor could stop himself, a deep sigh left his lips.

Jane looked up and clenched her teeth. All right, she could understand that Thor trusted Loki would find a solution for whatever problem he was working on and a week of waiting was probably nothing for a God, but it _was_ for her and it certainly was for Frigga.

"Well excuse me for being worried about our future!" Jane exclaimed. Thor bit his lip and closed his eyes for a second.

"Please Jane… I didn't mean it like that…" he tried, but Jane had reached her breaking point.

"Then how did you _mean_ it?" she shouted, not noticing the sudden silence of the other people in the room. "I am trying to fix the biggest problem we could deal with! Why don't you?"

"Loki's trying to figure out the spell, Jane… you've got to give him time…" Thor answered.

"What is there to figure out? The spell is written in black and white! If there's a problem… than why doesn't he tell us?"

Thor licked his lips and placed his hands on Jane's arm, trying to calm her down, fully aware of Loki's presence in the room. Nonetheless… Loki hadn't once looked up from his books.

"He's looking into it… He needs to understand the spell completely…"

Jane pulled away from her husband's grip.

"What is he not understanding? Why do I always get some vague excuse! If the spell doesn't work any longer… then please, just tell me!"

"I don't know any more than you do, Jane…" Thor admitted. He lowered his voice, trying to keep the conversation between them, but everyone, except Loki apparently, was watching them anyway. "Maybe this is a form of magic Loki doesn't master… maybe he needs to learn how to control it… maybe there is something else… maybe Loki just isn't capable of preforming this kind of magic. If that's the case... than, I'm sorry, but he'll keep trying until he's absolutely certain he can't do it. And he won't admit that right away… "

"But why wouldn't Loki be able to do the spell…" Jane asked almost desperately.

Thor sighed. What more reasons could he give? Magic just wasn't right up his alley…

"Because he's no king…" a voice suddenly sounded. Everyone looked up in surprise. Sif crossed her arms in front of her chest and repeated her answer. "Loki's no king… he simply cannot do the spell…"

Jane frowned. Thor scowled and sighed.

"Sif… I thought we already skipped this…"

The others in the room sighed as well. Arya who was standing next to the lady warrior frowned.

"My lady… Loki is the king of Asgard! How could you have any doubt about his qualities now?" she exclaimed with an angry tone in her voice.

"Indeed, Sif… really?" Fandral joined in. "Loki is the king! Just get used to it!"

Sif rolled her eyes while the rest of her friends started arguing. No one but her noticed how Loki slowly lowered his book and made eye contact with the lady warrior. One look was enough to confirm the thoughts that had formed Sif's mind. She softly smiled, but it was a smile holding more defeat than victory. Loki answered by sighing and looking away while he closed his book and put it aside.

The arguing continued for a couple more seconds. Loki clenched his teeth together. He'd really hoped no one would find out… but it was the truth and no matter how many books he read, no matter how far he searched for a way to cheat the spell, there was just no loophole in this whole case. The young king folded his hands under his chin and closed his eyes for a second.

"She's right…" a strong voice sounded. The arguing stopped at once and everyone looked from Sif to Loki. The young king carefully made eye contact with every single one of his friends before continuing.

"Sif's right…" he said while getting up from his chair and walking into the light of the flames. Sif followed him with her eyes, a mixture of pride and sadness covering her face.

Suddenly it struck Thor. His frown disappeared and made place for an understanding smile.

"Right… " the God of Thunder said. "If you put it that way…"

The others in the room looked from Sif to Loki to Thor, all demanding an explanation. With a simple nod, Loki made it clear Thor could do the talking.

The God of Thunder sighed and licked his lips.

"Loki's not the king, indeed…" he started with a sad frown. "You can only become king through your blood and birth right, or the former king must have crowned you. If there is no heir nor a chosen successor, then and only then is Heimdall permitted to choose the next King of Asgard. Loki is not the rightful heir of our father and he wasn't crowned either… Not by Odin anyway..."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

"So… that would mean that… since the Allfather is dead…" Arya started, but her voice broke and faded away. She just couldn't grasp the idea of her king, killing the Allfather. It was a painful truth she'd come to accept, but until now she'd chosen to ignore it.

"It means…" Fandral continued. "… that Thor… is the king…"

Everyone turned to the God of Thunder. The same simple thought crossed their minds, but no one dared to say it out loud.

Jane searched for eye contact with her husband. An incredible sadness had taken hold of her heart.

"But… "she stuttered with tears in her eyes. "You don't know any magic…"

Thor looked up and rubbed his temples. He slowly shook his head.

"So that's it then…" Volstagg declared after a short silence. "We cannot place the spell…"

Jane sighed in defeat and fell back in the chair. Of course she couldn't blame Thor, but somewhere she felt the cold stab of anger. Anger for Thor's lack of interest in magic. If he'd just learned it, just like Loki had…

The distressed mother closed her eyes and let the silence wash over her. She knew everyone was watching her with pity in their eyes. Maybe it was better this way… at least now she knew what Loki had been looking for and that the spell wasn't going to work after all. Somewhere she also started feeling hatred towards Loki for killing the Allfather. Odin probably would have been able to place the spell… Although she wasn't sure that her grumpy father in law would have allowed it.

"Yes, we can…" Loki suddenly said. All eyes jumped towards the young king who had kept rather silent the whole time. Loki seemed nervous and almost devastated as if he'd just made the most difficult decision in his life. But as defeated he'd looked, just like that, he put up his own slightly creepy and insuring grin.

Thor frowned. This wasn't going to end well.

"What are you talking about?" the God of Thunder asked suspiciously.

"You're going to give Thor a crash course in magic?" Fandral asked sarcastically, not noticing Loki's sudden change in behaviour.

"Trying to teach Thor magic would have as much effect as making Sif fall in love with you, Fandral…" the young king announced. Fandral laughed and winked towards the lady warrior who threw him a meaningful glare back.

Loki just continued and now everyone in the room could notice the creepy tone in his voice.

"Thor's theory would have been right if not for one tiny detail…"

Loki's eyes scanned the room, until he was sure he had everyone's full attention.

"Odin…" he started wickedly, "is not dead…"

* * *

**Maniacal laugh! Maniacal laugh! Maniacal laugh!**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! ;)**

**Please review, correct, ask... anything's welcome! :)**

**Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think!**

**Rumple x**


	44. Chapter 43

**Oy! Even though I got an ILLEGAL amount of work for school... I still managed to write! Yes, I know... Thank you, thank you... ;) **

**Anyway! I'm happy to give you guys something! Please ENJOY! :)**

* * *

_**Chapter 43**_

If a bomb would have exploded, no one would have cared. Everyone in the common room instantly froze, their eyes showing utter surprise and disbelief. Loki on the other hand, didn't drop his wicked smile and just stared from one person to the other, obviously enjoying the terror on their faces. After what seemed like ages, everyone turned to Thor, nervously awaiting his reaction. The God Of Thunder was having trouble deciding what emotion to express first and at the same time he wondered whether he'd heard his brother correctly, but his friends' faces didn't leave any doubt.

"Wha… What?" Thor eventually stuttered confusedly. His brother only smirked in return.

A sudden uncontrollable anger raged through the God of Thunder's body. His jaw tightened, his teeth clenched together, his nostrils flared while his face turned from red to purple. With a load roar which every man should interpret as the clue to spontaneously pie his pants, he jump from his chair and strode towards the young king. With a loud zooming Mjölnir flew through the door right into his owner's outstretched hand. Thor lifted his hammer, but just before he could strike an invisible force field pushed him back. Immediately Lady Sif and the Warriors Three instinctively reached for their weapons before realising they didn't bring them to the common room. Thor stumbled backwards, but didn't fall. The God of Thunder looked up once more, his eyes fierce and burning, while he raised Mjölnir once more. Yet Loki didn't seem that impressed. The young king just smiled and locked his light grey eyes on Thor's.

"You're so predictable, brother…" he sneered while lifting his right hand. A second later a green apple from the overflowing fruit display in the corner of the room, shot through the air right into the young king's hand. He took a mighty bite and slowly chewed, all the time watching his brother with fake innocence colouring his light grey eyes.

"You know…" he started with a smirk after swallowing his apple down. "However I'm certain that killing me would be quite satisfying, I can't help but notice you're missing the obvious."

Loki waited a couple more seconds, as if he expected Thor to give him some sort of reaction, but the furious and hateful expression on the God of Thunder's face didn't fade. Therefore, the young king took another bite and continued.

"Howv woulvv killing me…" he said with his mouth full of apple. Loki swallowed and continued. "How would it help? Don't you want to know where… and how… and why… and all those other dramatic questions you enjoy asking?"

Still no change… Loki seemed to be the only relaxed person in the room. Inside his head he kept cursing himself for revealing his biggest secret. He was showing his best cards and he didn't even know why… No, he did… He did it for Frigga! But still… Odin had been Loki's back up-plan in case he got trouble with Thor or any other Asgardian for that matter.

Yet, the young king kept his playful smirk locked on his face and didn't show any of his doubts. While taking another bite, he looked around the room.

"Damn… If I didn't know any better, I would say you're all surprised…" he whispered.

It stayed silent for a couple of minutes. The only sounds being the heavy breathing of a furious Thor and the crushing of Loki's teeth in his juicy apple.

At one point, Lady Sif decided to start talking. Pale as ice she took a step forward and caught Loki's attention.

"You…" she started, obviously struggling to keep the emotion in her voice under control. "You killed the Allfather! You killed Odin!"

Loki threw his friend an amused smile and catapulted the core of the apple into the bin at the other end of the room.

"It's almost adorable how you place judgement over me, Sif… all of you, in fact…" he said. Sif frowned.

Loki folded his hands behind his back and started pacing around the room. Every time he passed one of his friends he could feel their cold stares pierce in his back, but the young king didn't mind.

"Loki kills… right?" he asked innocently. "All Loki does is kill… he's not kind, he kills… he's not a leader, he kills… he's not funny, he kills… he doesn't love, he only kills!"

Silence fell once more and now even Thor seemed to calm down a bit. He slowly lowered Mjölnir.

"But you did!" Sif exclaimed. "You said…"

"Did I?" Loki interrupted. He walked over to the lady warrior and locked his gaze on her. "Did I really, Sif?"

Sif wanted to answer, but nothing came out. Loki smirked and turned back to the rest of the room.

"I never, ever said that I killed Odin… you just assumed I did, which I take as a compliment, yet… despite of the fact that it would bring me infinite satisfaction, I did not kill that piece of a liar!"

The young king waited patiently to make sure his words had effect.

"You mean to say…" Thor started, shaking with fury, "that my father has been alive all this time, and yet you claim the throne of Asgard!"

Loki grinned widely and nodded. "Evil… isn't it?" he asked sarcastically.

"But…" a sudden voice suddenly interrupted. Loki turned in surprise and faced a confused and terrified looking Arya. Somewhere he felt guilty towards the girl. Arya had shown more trust towards him than anyone, except for Frigga and his mother of course, had ever done.

"But…" Arya repeated now that she noticed Loki's attention was on her. "Where is he then? Heimdall told us he cannot see the Allfather…"

Loki smiled. Finally someone was asking the right questions.

"Yes…" Fandral joined in with confusion carved on his face. "And if he's still alive… then why didn't he come back?"

In any other circumstances, everyone would have been surprised by Fandral's sudden intellect, but right now they just wanted to know the answer.

Loki smirked mischievously and waited a few more seconds before continuing.

"I could have killed him… but why would I eliminate my best card! Even now I could keep silent and no one would ever think about laying one finger on me… Knowledge is power!"

The others in the room shared a look. They knew Loki was right. All they could do now was wait and listen. Yet, they all knew Loki would have another trick up his sleeve to guarantee his safety.

Loki enjoyed his friend's silent surrender and grinned widely.

Just to emphasize his victory, the young king strolled through the room and picked himself a couple of grapes from the fruit bowl. One by one, he tore the grapes from their twig and slowly ate them, all the while throwing satisfied sneers on his friends.

Lady Sif, The Warriors Three and Thor knew better than to respond at a time like this. Loki would only enjoy it even more. For now, the mischievous king had won the battle, yet the war hadn't even started yet.

Arya and Jane, on the other hand, didn't really know what to do and just kept glaring over at the others, hoping for some guidance, but the other warriors kept their eyes fixed on the young king.

After Loki had swallowed his last grape and had licked his fingertips clean, he smirked once more and walked over to the centre of the room.

"To be honest…" the young king started, "taking Odin's throne was ridiculously, disgracefully easy…"

Loki turned to his brother. An excited sparkle lit up his almost green eyes. Thor was trembling with rage, but knew he only had to wait.

"But you were right: where is he? And why didn't he come back? After all, it isn't easy to hide the biggest royal buffoon in the universe!"

Loki raised his eyebrows and faced every single one of his friends as if he was waiting for suggestions. After a short silence his expression changed to one of fake disappointment. The young king turned back to Thor.

"You are not the only one carrying an ancient and powerful relic, Thor Odinson!" he snapped while gesturing to the Mighty Mjölnir.

Thor frowned and looked at his hammer. Afterwards he looked up again and carefully inspected his brother as if he was expecting Loki was hiding some other weapon under his cloak.

Loki noticed his brother's searching eyes and smirked.

"In fact Odin signed his own doom…" the young king continued. "When he gave you the power of the Might Mjölnir I was left with nothing! Just one more reminder that I was never meant to be your equal! Let's not grant Loki any more power! He might just outshine his perfect brother!"

Thor scowled, but didn't respond. Loki's eyes were turning dark with hatred once more.

"But I was not a fool! I decided to do my own research…" Loki turned quiet again to make sure everyone was listening.

"I broke into the weapon's vault to take a closer look at the relics and take my pick. Odin, that senile fool never knew, until I used my findings on him…"

Thor swallowed. He knew that those relics were dangerous. He knew of their dark powers. They were locked away for a very good reason.

"What I found that day was no more than a stone. A simple rock, but very useful if you know how to use it…"

Loki reached under his cloak and held out a dark symmetrical shaped rock, not bigger than his palm. The stone seemed hollow and an almost invisible white mist curled through the numerous holes. The temperature in the room instantly fell and the lights dimmed. Everyone could feel the dark power radiating from the stone. It almost seemed as if they could here silent voices, whispers coming from the rock.

Thor inspected the relic and searched his memory for a name. He was certain his father told him about it, but it that had been such a long time ago. Apparently, Loki didn't feel like waiting. The young king closed his hand around the rock and drew all attention back to him.

"This rock once belonged to the Light Elves. To them, it was known as "the stone of souls" or the "_Valkyrja_ _stone_". Legend says it once belonged to a _Valkyrie, _a female figure who lead the bravest fallen warriors to Walhalla. These women had to take care of the death in Walhalla, but had to stay a virgin in order to remain young and beautiful for ever. However, one of these women fell in love with a Light Elf. In the knowledge that she could never be together with her lover, she created this stone. With it, the Light Elf man could separate his soul from his body and be with the Valkyrie. Yet this could only happen one day a year. The day that the human and spirit world collided. The Valkyrie couldn't wait and crossed the borders of the worlds herself. She broke her oath and was banned to our realms where she died together with her lover, many years later. The stone, however was kept by the Light Elves."

Loki took a deep breath while his eyes scanned the stone in his hand. An almost dreamy expression covered his face. Oh how he loved power like this… The young king had never fully understood why Thor and his other friends just didn't seem to be bothered by magic at all. This was not just magic. It was ancient, it was legend, it had seen millennia before them and would see millennia in the future. It was power!

Thor watched his brother carefully. Loki seemed distracted. The God of Thunder shared a quit look with his friends before nodding shortly. His grip on Mjölnir tightened. Behind Loki, Sif closed her hand around a goblet standing on the table, planning to use it as a weapon if necessary. She nodded almost invisibly towards Volstagg and Fandral. Arya caught her stare and mouthed: What are we going to do?

Jane, who was still sitting on a chair behind Thor seemed to be thinking the same and threw Sif a questioning glare as well. The Lady warrior didn't really have an answer. The only thing she wanted to do right now was stop Loki before… well… something bad would happen…. Whatever that would be.

The young king smirked and looked up. His vague expression faded and made place for one of utter amusement.

"Please don't, Sif… You might just regret it…"

Sif's jaw tightened while her hand let go of the goblet. Loki turned back to his brother and threw him the same smirk. Thor growled and relaxed his hand.

"Really, guys… What did you expect to achieve anyway? No one but me with the answers you seek…" the young king sneered before continuing his story.

"The Light Elves used the _Valkyrja_ _stone _to perform certain rituals in which they separated their souls from their bodies to seek guidance of the spirits of the dead. Unfortunately, the Light Elves weren't spared when the Dark Elves plundered and ravaged the nine realms under the command of Malekith. The Dark Elves conquered the Light Elf home world, Alfheim, and stole the stone. In their hands it became a powerful weapon with which they could suck a soul from its body and keep it captive in a world between the worlds. The victims weren't dead nor alive and there was only one day on which the stolen soul could return to their bodies. However, if the body was killed, the spirit would be doomed to wander restlessly in an eternal oblivion, in between the living and the death."

Loki turned quiet. His playful, creepy smirk still playing on his lips while his eyes sparkled with dark excitement.

"That's all very interesting and very boring… but you still haven't answered our question. Where is Odin and what did you do to him?" Fandral suddenly said. Loki turned to the warrior and raised his eyebrows. Sif, who was standing next to Fandral sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Isn't it obvious, Fandral!" she exclaimed before turning her attention on Loki. Her eyes darkened a couple of shades.

"Loki sucked The Allfather's soul out of his body with that stone…"

If possible, everyone turned even more quiet while all attention fixed on the dark rock in Loki's hands.

"But…" Arya interrupted the silence once more. The young king turned to her and threw her a questioning look. The young Captain swallowed the upcoming fear and forced herself to continue. After all, she didn't have the feeling Loki was trying to scare her. In fact, the young king seemed to be genuinely interested in what she was going to say.

"That stone… those rituals… they were performed with Elf magic. In this case, Dark Elf magic…"

Volstagg nodded. He understood Arya's remark.

"Indeed…" he said. "Loki should know Dark Elf magic in order to make it work. Last time I checked…" Volstagg turned silent and threw a suspicious look on the young king. "Last time I checked… Loki was still swearing by light Asgardian magic… like Queen Frigga's."

Loki locked his gaze with Volstagg's. Slowly an evil sneer formed on his lips. Volstagg's eyes grew big.

"You know Dark Elf magic!" Sif shouted before Volstagg got the chance.

Loki turned to the female warrior. "It took me a couple of years… I admit it… But in the end… magic is magic!"

"Are you mad!" Thor roared, although his brother didn't seem that impressed. "Dark Elf magic is called Dark for a reason, Loki!"

"Oh my… did you make that link all by yourself, brother?" Loki sneered.

Jane, who was feeling a bit left out, decided to join the conversation. All though she didn't understand most of the things the Asgardians were talking about, magic was something she understood since Loki had explained it to her.

"But you said…" the scientist started, drawing all the attention to her. "You said that Dark magic could turn you mad! Like it did with Mer…"

Thor threw his wife a meaningful glare. Jane immediately shut up when she remembered what Thor had told her about Merlin. Nevertheless, Loki had noticed.

"What?" he asked, almost forgetting to be creepy. "Like who?"

Jane shook her head. "It's nothing… I don't remember the name…" she said, surprised about how convincing she sounded. One look on the young king made it quite clear that Loki didn't share her opinion, so Jane quickly continued.

"You said that magic would turn against you if you used it for bad purposes!"

Everyone in the room suddenly felt like taking a step back.

Loki bit his lip as if was thinking over Jane's words.

"You… you…" Thor suddenly stuttered. His voice was shaking with anger. "You used Dark magic… You dishonoured mother and everything she ever taught you!"

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

"Oh Thor… dishonoured… please…" he said. "Mother fell in love with an imbecile that practised Dark magic as if it was child's play. Don't lecture me about honour!"

"Odin could control it!" Thor shouted back.

"So can I!" Loki responded, but Thor nor any other of his friends seemed convinced.

Loki sighed. "For those who forgot, I fell through a wormhole created by the Bifröst itself!"

"And how does that justify anything?" Hogun asked wrathfully. Loki looked surprised. Hogun never showed much emotion. To hear that much hate in his voice was almost a complement to the young king.

"The Bifröst is not all ponies and rainbows…" the young king answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "There is as much Dark as Light magic in that bridge. Think about it… To rebuild it we were in need of the power of Tesseract! When Thor decided to show off his swinging skills, all that magic was released at once and formed the wormhole…"

Loki waited a couple more seconds before finishing.

"I think I had my share of Dark magic… This stone" he said while lifting the relic, "was nothing compared to that…"

For a second, the young king seemed distracted again until Volstagg interrupted the silence.

"Yet… you still sucked out the Allfather's soul… Where is it now?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Weren't you listening. He neither dead, nor alive…"

"And where is the body?" Fandral asked.

"The Allfather's _shell _has its own privet, cosy, air-conditioned prison cell on Jotenheim…" the young king responded with a smile. "But don't mind looking for him, because he's hidden safe and sound under a powerful cloaking spell…"

"Well then…" Thor said in a low voice which send shivers down everyone's spine. "You will kindly escort us to Jotenheim and release my father!" he said with fake sympathy, while raising Mjölnir.

Yet, Loki only laughed. "Thor… you're quite entertaining sometimes, you know… I told you: souls can be pulled away any time… returning them to their respective bodies however, is another matter entirely."

Thor took a deep breath. He was getting enough of Loki's sneering. A slink hand on his shoulder forced him to calm down a bit. He looked up and met his wife's worried, yet meaningful eyes.

Loki sniggered. "There is only one day I can bring Odin back…"

It stayed silent for a while as if Loki was waiting for an answer.

Sif sighed. "The day the spirit world and the our world collide, yes… you mentioned that! Would His Highness be so kind to share the date?" she asked sarcastically.

Loki smiled. "Impressive, Lady Sif…" he sneered. "And any idea what that day might be?"

Sif looked away.

"Eeer… Halloween?" Jane suddenly interrupted.

Loki looked her way. "Hello-what?" he asked.

Thor clenched his teeth together. "She means _Winter Nights_, Loki… It's called Halloween on Midgard."

"Hallo… Ween…" Loki repeated. "Pathetic…"

The young king shook his head and continued. "But yes… the worlds collide on Winter Nights… Then and only then can we reach into the spirit world and bring a soul back."

Thor closed his eyes. Now he knew the catch. The God Of Thunder sighed and concentrated on Jane's soft touch to remain calm enough to continue.

"Winter Nights is over five months from now…" he said darkly.

Loki smirked. "Really? I didn't notice… How considerate of you to make that calculation."

The others in the room shared a look.

Loki only smiled while pocketing the stone. Immediately the temperature went back to normal and the flames spread their warm light once more. Everything seemed normal.

"Why did you tell us all this now?" Arya asked. Loki turned to his Captain and smiled friendly.

"Because, Arya… I now see that as long as I'm not the _real_ king, Asgard is in danger. If I die, the line ends with me and there will never be another king until Odin's body dies.. which could take some time."

"Why not just kill his body?" Sif suddenly asked darkly. Loki was impressed the lady warrior even came up with that idea even though it was rather obvious.

"Because then I become king…" Thor answered before Loki got the chance. His brother bit his tongue and turned away. Thor fixed his eyes on the young king's back, knowing that Loki was fully aware of his stares and continued while the irony basically dripped from his words. "And that would not only be extremely embarrassing for our _great_ king… he also knows that I would never crown him king!"

Loki turned and threw his brother a challenging glare, but Thor had crossed his limits. His normally bright blue eyes had turned dark and showed nothing less than pure hatred.

"Perhaps…" Loki eventually declared. "But you're forgetting that if I bring Odin back and he decides to kill me after all, you still have a chance to keep your beloved little family! Maybe that senile monster grants his perfect son one more favour and places the spell!"

The tension in the room reached its peak. Loki smirked wickedly.

"So… yes… you can kill me! But remember that you not only loose the only chance of placing this spell, you also doom Asgard for the rest of eternity!"

Loki looked around the room, locking his eyes with every single person present. He even stared outside for a second where the Bifröst reflected the last sunbeams into the universe.

"Your choice!" he snapped before marching out the room.

* * *

**Badaboom! There you go! **

**I hope you liked it even though there was a lot of storytelling... It's necessary sometimes... I can't help Loki being such a smart-ass ;)**

**Please review! **

**I love you guys! Writing this fic has been amazing so far! And to be honest, you're the ones to thank for that... so...**

**THANK YOU!**

**I'll try writing as much as possible but exams are creeping near... (PANIC!)**

**THANK YOU AGAIN and a special THANKS to all the amazing reviewers! You guys make my day every time! (even if it's bad news ;) )**

**Rumple x**


	45. Chapter 44

**And there you go! ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 44**_

In the weeks that followed Loki and Thor perfected the art of avoiding each other as much as possible. Not that Loki really had to try. Thor just disappeared at the first side of the young king. The God of Thunder didn't show up at any important meetings, he didn't practise along with his friends and the other Asgardian warriors, he didn't show up at any meal as long as Loki was in the room…

Jane sighed while walking through the golden hallways of the palace. It had been one month already and although she could understand why, Thor's behaviour was starting to annoy her. For the – how many? – time she was making her way towards the throne room where she knew a meeting could start any second. Since Thor childishly refused to be around his brother, Jane had decided to attend the meetings herself, just to be able to inform Thor on the _how_, the _what_, the _why_ and the _when_ of Asgard and the other realms. Even though Thor wasn't the Captain any longer, he still had an important role to fulfil as the prince of Asgard. Not that there was anything of interest happening. The news on what had happened on Vanaheim had spread across the realms like a fire on a haystack. Since this was just extra proof of Asgard's strength, all possible threats kept quiet. Steadily, Loki was being promoted from imprisoned, second son and traitor to one of the most respected kings Asgard had ever known. Nevertheless, the young king didn't let it go to his head, for he knew darker times were ahead. Once Odin would be back, things would be very different. He doubted the Asgardians would still think about him in the same way…

Lost in thought, Jane entered the throne room. Unlike other times, when she was greeted by every person present with overdramatic bowing, _my ladies_ and fake smiles, the room was now filled with nervous commotion. Jane frowned and made her way to the head of the table where she found Loki surrounded by his four advisers. A concerned expression covered his face while Lord Steldor seemed to be explaining whatever was bothering him. The young king nodded from time to time and followed his adviser's pointing finger over the map of Vanaheim.

Jane was surprised to spot Lady Sif and The Warriors Three at the other end of the table. Since Loki's revelation about The Allfather's condition and whereabouts, Thor hadn't been the only one to avoid the young king at any cost. Lady Sif and Hogun, who were currently talking to Lord Atlas, hadn't shown up for weeks. Only Volstagg and Fandral had found the will to drag themselves towards the throne room where Loki only enjoyed their growing disgust.

To be honest, Jane had been surprised about Fandral's participation. He'd always seemed like someone you better kept as a friend, because when you pissed him of, he could hold a grudge for quite some time. And although Jane was certain Fandral was furious with Loki, he didn't seem to let it interfere with his duties.

Jane took a deep breath and put on her most stern and superior expression before joining at the table. Over time she'd learned that the people of Asgard saw her as their Queen and especially after her two days of reign, she'd mastered a fitting expression. Immediately all humming stopped. Everyone looked up for a second and bowed their head respectfully before continuing their discussions. Jane turned to Loki and smiled shortly.

"What is going on?" she asked. Loki looked up.

"It's Vanaheim again…" he answered. Jane nodded. She immediately understood that there was something big at stake, because Loki wasn't looking at her with that annoying smirk he carried around during the last weeks. For the first time in a month, he finally seemed like the king he had been before.

Loki nodded at Lord Steldor to explain the situation.

The royal adviser nodded back before turning to Jane.

"Just as we suspected, there are still bandits hiding in Vanaheim. Heimdall saw them scatter. Most of them fled into the Dark Mountains. Their numbers were small and it was useless to waist Asgardian forces on them. Besides, one knows better than to hide, let alone search in the Dark Mountains. The grounds are shifting, the hills are treacherous. We assumed the bandits sealed their own fates. However, Heimdall informed us this very morning that a group of at least seventy rascals has crossed the border of Vanaheim once more. They survived in the mountains and have regrouped. Heimdall suspects they must have had a base there as well. A secret emergency hide out."

Jane nodded while her eyes fixed on the map in front of her. It was enchanted and showed a moving projection of Vanaheim. Over time, the tiny red dots, flags and stripes had got meaning. Jane let her eye fall on a group of over fifty red dots slowly moving towards a big green triangle, which she knew stood for agricultural village. A bit more to the right a thick black, dashed line marked the border between Vanaheim and the Wilderness with its Dark Mountains. Just underneath, a little to the left of the moving group of red dots, another green triangle was shown. The only difference was the red dot pulsing in the middle of the triangle.

Jane frowned. Steldor followed her stare.

"They came fast…" he explained sounding sad. "They already pillaged the first village, Hella it was called…"

Jane looked up, her eyes coloured with confusion and pity.

"Was?" she asked in a broken voice. Steldor shared a look with his king. Loki's face didn't show any emotion. The adviser turned back to Jane.

"Indeed… Nothing's left… they took everything, burned everything… only a few people remain…"

Jane looked up and found Hogun, the only Vanaheimer she knew, standing a little bit further at the table.. His eyes were dark with hatred, his whole body tensed, ready for battle. The young mother could only feel bad for him.

Jane swallowed. Her eyes followed the group of dots once more. A uncontrollable anger took grip on her heart. Why would anyone cause that much destruction? Why did they rip these people's lives apart?

"They're moving fast…" she noticed after a short silence.

Steldor nodded. "Heimdall has seen they are in the possession of horses… where they got those, we do not know, but I suppose they stole them from the first village."

"But why didn't Heimdall warn us sooner?" Jane continued.

"Heimdall wasn't watching Vanaheim…" Steldor admitted. "The king had order him to keep a watchful eye on the realms beyond Yggdrasil."

Jane glared over at the young king. For a second she swore she could see a flash of fear in Loki's light grey eyes. She knew Loki was still scared Thanos would turn up after the death of The Other, but it seemed the purple headed ruler had no interest in the death of his most loyal servant.

"Vanaheim had been secure for weeks, my lady…" Steldor continued. "We didn't think this possible. There is still Dark Elf Magic in those mountains. That makes it harder for Heimdall to see properly."

Jane nodded. "So what do we do?"

"We stop them…" Loki answered before his adviser got the chance. Lord Steldor frowned. He obviously hadn't finished his briefing earlier.

"My king, there is much to be discussed…"

But Loki interrupted.

"My lord Steldor… there are people dying right now! We must act now! This is a group of fifty… sixty at most… I've fought bigger on my own!"

Lord Steldor bowed his head and Loki nodded. The young king looked up and let his eyes wander over the table. One by one the nervous voices turned quiet.

"I will personally lead a fighting squat to Vanaheim!" Loki announced. "We will leave this instant! The Vanaheimers need our help now! This is only one simple group of idiotic bandits, trying to impress us. They have failed!"

Loki turned silent, his eyes scanning the table.

"Lady Sif, Lord Fandral, Lord Volstagg and Lord Hogun! Report at the stables in fifteen minutes!"

The four warriors scowled. The last thing they wanted was Loki to come along, but they bowed their heads and silently made their way out of the throne room. Loki turned his attention back on the room and continued.

"Captain, you'll stay here, we will discuss a strategy before our departure!"

Arya bowed her head as well. She looked up and quickly shared a worried look with Jane.

"The rest of you, please proceed with your duties. Lord Steldor, you and Lord Atlas will remain here. Keep an eye on the situation from here and inform us immediately if there is any change we are not aware of."

"Can I request to be extremely cautious, my king?" Lord Atlas asked. Loki looked his way and nodded shortly.

"Noted…" he responded sharply.

As one, the other Asgardians present bowed for their king and started leaving. Loki turned to Jane.

"And get your useless husband to the stables as well!" he snapped. Jane scowled, but decided to ignore Loki.

"You're making a mistake!" she said instead. Loki ignored her, but Jane wasn't going to give up that fast.

"You're going into battle without anyone you can trust right now! Why not take some other warriors? You're just asking for trouble!"

Loki snapped his head in her direction.

"Other warriors are to slow and I know this group will clear the job in no time!"

Jane sighed. Loki threw her an annoyed glare.

"Didn't I ask you to get Thor!" he barked before turning his back to the worried mother and walk over to Arya who was still waiting at the other side of the table.

Jane took a deep breath and stamped out the throne room.

The moment Loki had turned his attention on Arya, his scowl faded and made place for an almost kind smile.

"Arya…" he said calmly. The young Captain didn't really know how to respond. Only seconds ago he'd been shouting at Jane, and besides that she also didn't exactly know what to think of her king after the events in the common room. Nevertheless, her king's brilliant smile and kind light grey eyes managed to mess up her mind and cleared it of every form of doubt.

She smiled back, knowing she probably looked like a complete idiot.

Loki stopped in front of her and seemed to be waiting for an answer.

_Wait…_Arya thought. _Did he ask me a question?_

The young king raised his eyebrows. "Well?" he asked. "Any ideas of a strategy? Or do we follow Thor's lead and simply burst in like a bunch of lunatics?"

_Oh… right… the quest…_ Arya thought. She smiled once more, trying to hide her confusion.

"Eer… I suppose all we can do is follow their trail and stop them before they pillage another village…"

Loki thought about that and nodded. "I suppose you're right…" he answered with a smile.

Arya frowned. This whole conversation had been completely useless… Why did Loki even ask her in the first place?

The young king smiled and walked past the confused Captain.

"Off we go!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

-xxx-

Half an hour later the fellowship of seven reached the Bifröst. Since the bandits seemed to have horses, they decided to take their own horses with them.

Loki positioned himself in front and turned around to face his friends. Absolutely no one, except Arya seemed to have any excitement about the mission. Grim and dark expressions covered their faces.

Loki sighed.

"I realise this field trip doesn't fit in your _busy_ schedules, yet I ask you to follow me until we've destroyed this threat as well. You are the most trained and skilled warriors of Asgard. It is useless to spend an army of fifty if it can be done by us. I don't suppose this will take longer than a few hours… after that you can spend the rest of your day hating me!"

No one answered and the young king turned his back to them.

"Heimdall…" he asked. "Is there any change?"

The Guardian turned to his king and frowned. "I'm afraid there is, my king…" he answered darkly. "These bandits are moving fast and then I don't mean by the means of horses. It's the plundering that bothers me… They've already pillaged the next village. Their next stop will probably be Storborg, the first big city of Vanaheim."

Loki nodded. "Then send us as close to Storborg as possible!"

Heimdall nodded and placed his sword in the middle of the Bifröst.

"Please, proceed with caution, my lords and ladies…" he said before pushing the weapon further down.

The rainbow grabbed them and send them towards Vanaheim. Just before they landed, Loki could feel a soft twist as if an invisible power tried to pull them out of the rainbow beam of the Bifröst, but it happened so quickly, the young hardly had the time to worry about it.

One by one the hooves of their horses touched the sandy ground. Loki looked around. The weather was obviously better than the last time they'd visited. The sun was low in the sky, ready to begin its clime to midday. In the far distance Loki spotted a big city. Storborg, he knew, the beating heart of this part of Vanaheim. All trading happened here. Loki had often visited the city in the past with his friends, with his brother or just with his mother. He'd even met his first teenage crush in these cosy, brimming streets, not that anyone knew about that of course.

Loki frowned. Heimdall could have dropped them a lot closer. In between them and Storborg, another small settlement arose. The second village…

The young king didn't understand. Why did Heimdall drop them this far?

The bright blue sky darkened when thick clouds of dark smoke covered the morning sun.

"We must act, Loki!" Fandral shouted when his eye fell on the burning remains of the village in front of them. Loki nodded and spurred on his horse and led the way. Five minutes later, they reached the village, screams of terror filling the air. Loki dismounted his horse. The others followed his lead. For a moment no one said a word, shocked by the tragedy in front of them. The stench of burning wood and flesh swirled through the air. Everywhere people were trying to extinguish the flames. Everywhere families were morning over dead bodies. The closest fields and stables surrounding the village where ablaze.

"Help where you can.." Loki ordered in a painful whisper. His friends didn't even wait for the command. Immediately Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif spread through the village. Arya followed their lead, but turned to her king first. Loki's face was pale, his light grey eyes filled with sorrow and hate. Arya swallowed and speeded towards a young girl who was clinging to the burned, bloody body of what Arya presumed had been her mother or sister.

Thor stared at Loki's back, expecting the young king to turn around, but Loki kept his eyes on the village, so Thor stepped forward.

"Since when do you put the suffering of other's in front of a mission?" he asked rather harshly. Loki had always been the one to make the hard decisions no one dared to think about. At a time like this he should have ignored the village to chase after the bandits in the knowledge that more casualties would fall in Storborg.

"Something is not right… " Loki responded without taking his eyes of the destruction in front of him. Thor noticed how Loki ignored his harsh tone. His younger brother was deadly serious. Although the blond prince felt more hatred towards his brother than ever before, he understood that this was no time for old arguments.

"Look at the flames…" Loki continued after noticing Thor's change in attitude. The young king pointed towards a group of distressed Vanaheimers who were feverishly trying to put out the flames on a small house.

Thor followed his pointing finger. For a second he observed the sight, knowing he really had to see what Loki was referring to. Otherwise, the young king would start sneering again. And then he saw it.

"The water has no effect…" the God of Thunder noticed. Loki nodded. His older brother looked down on him.

"Is it magic?" he asked after a short silence. Loki smiled shortly.

"I believe so…" he answered, but Thor could sense that there was more going on. He inspected his brother carefully and noticed a slightly terrified, yet equally hungry expression in his brother's light grey eyes.

"Loki!" he warned. The young king snapped from his trance and looked up. A new serious frown appeared on his face.

"Heimdall didn't spot any sorcerer..." Loki noted.

"Perhaps he managed to hide from his view… it wouldn't be the first time!" Thor answered, fully aware that he'd let his hatred slip through for a second. Loki scowled, but decided to ignore it.

"They…" he responded. "Not 'he'…"

Thor frowned, but Loki continued.

"This a group of remarkably strong sorcerers… dark sorcerers…"

Thor's jaw tightened as he watched that hungry expression return to Loki's face.

"The question that remains…" the young king said. "is where they went?"

Loki scanned his surroundings, knowing what to look for. Even if they were invisible, their spell should have left a trace, but the young king was thorn from his thoughts by a terrified, high pitched scream coming from inside the burning house.

Thor and Loki shared a look before rushing to the Vanaheimer's aid.

"There're still people inside?" Thor asked an old, strangely familiar, man. The man looked up. The moment he recognised the prince of Asgard, he dropped his water filled bucket and bowed, but Thor drew him back on his feet and repeated his question, a little more demanding this time.

"Yes, my lord! My grandchildren and my daughter! They were still sleeping! Oh, please, my lord, help them!"

Thor dropped the frightened man and shared a look with Loki. Under normal circumstances Thor would just make it rain and everything would be under control. But now, water didn't seem to help in the slightest.

Loki nodded and turned towards the burning house. This was Dark Energy… Although the young king knew how to control the Dark magic of the Valkyrja stone, preforming Dark magic on his own was something entirely different. It would have to be done with Light magic, like Queen Frigga had taught him.

Loki raised his arms and pointed his palm at the house in front of him. The heat was almost unbearable, but the young king refused to move. A faint green glow formed around the house, making it look like a fata morgana in a scorching desert. The green bubble intensified until it glowed in the morning son. The dark flames eagerly licked the sides of their prison. Loki could feel the darkness suck at his own magic. Everywhere the flames touched the bubble, dark spots would appear, only to be fade away after another boost of Light magic from Loki.

Sweat formed on the young king's forehead, while the green bubble slowly shrunk, the flames violently attacking the curved walls. Loki blinked away the drops of sweat falling into his eyes. The dark flames turned the bubble, spot by spot, darker and darker.

"Come on…" the young king hissed while he felt the dark magic infiltrate his own magic and his body. His hands turned icy cold.

The bubble almost collided with the roof of the house. The last flames failed their last attempt to break through the magic barrier Loki had created. When the last flame had died, all Dark magic instantly vanished. Loki breathed out and lowered his hands. Two men ran in the remains of the house while the old man remained outside.

It took a while before Loki recognised Hogun to be one of the two men currently running inside the house.

The first man came out. In his arms he held a small unconscious child, a girl, burned in several places. He handed it over to Lady Sif, who had appeared on the scene. The man rushed back inside the house. This time he it took a bit longer before he ran out again, holding a severely bleeding teenage boy in his arms. The old man cried out in agony and took his grandson from the man. The man ran back to the house. A second later he walked out once more, this time with Hogun at his side. Together they supported a dark haired, stumbling woman. Loki could see that one side of her face was badly burned.

The young king swallowed while an sickening feeling took hold of him. The way Hogun cared for this family. He didn't like it… Thor seemed to be thinking the same.

Loki walked closer to the terrified family. Hogun and the other man carefully lowered the woman to the ground. She instantly fell and Hogun only just managed to catch her. Tears had formed in his otherwise emotionless eyes.

"Mother…" he whispered in a broken voice. The woman in his lap smiled painfully.

Loki closed his eyes for a second.

_Of all people…_ he thought. Thor shared a look with him. Both brothers were struck by an incredible sadness when they were reminded of their mother's loss.

The old man raced toward his daughter and kneeled next to Hogun.

"Nanna… my beautiful Nanna…" the old man cried while he tried to touch his daughter's scarred face. Nanna smiled.

"Father…" she whispered breathlessly. "I am sorry…"

The old man fell in silence. Hogun took hold of his mother.

"No!" he cried out. "Mother… you cannot … you cannot!"

Nanna smiled and fixed her one seeing eye on her eldest son.

"Hogun, my son… my brave warrior…"

Whatever she wanted to say next drowned in a painful cry. Hogun cried bitter tears while he buried his fingers in his mother's soft dress. The man standing next to him kneeled down and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Brother…" he spoke in a broken whisper. "Say your goodbyes… Let mother die in peace… there is no need for her to suffer…"

Hogun turned to his brother, wanting to say something in return.

"Who will take care of little Idun and her brother?" he croaked.

Hogun's brother swallowed. "Idun and Frey will be fine in the care of grandfather… And I will take care of them as well…"

Hogun cried in silence while fixing his attention back on his dying mother. The woman smiled to her two eldest sons. Her voice nothing more than a painful whisper.

"Hogun, my son… you have made your mother and your family proud… your father would tell you the same if he were still with us…" she said while reaching for Hogun's cheek.

Afterwards she focused on her second son.

"Bran, my son… you believe I never though you as great a your brother, but strength does not only lie in fighting skills. Your heart will guide you in this journey called life. Take care of your little brother and sister. They will need you…"

Bran burst out in tears. He and his brother bowed over the body of their mother while she drew her last shaky breaths.

"My sons, my dear father, I will always watch over you, and I will always love you…" she said before closing her eyes.

Loki couldn't watch any longer and kneeled next to the two brothers. He spread his hand over the dying women and closed his eyes. Hogun immediately pushed him away.

"Don't you dare using your wicked tricks on my mother!" he yelled.

Loki 's jaw tightened, but he didn't shout back.

"Do you want to make her passing easier?" he asked shortly. Hogun frowned and shared a look with his brother, but it was the father who answered.

"Please, my king…" he simply asked, his voice filled with pure sorrow.

Loki nodded and stretched out once more. He closed his eyes for a second, blocking out the screams around them, the stench, the sorrow… A soft green glimmer covered the trembling body of Nanna.

The bleeding wounds on her arms and legs closed and the burns on her faces whitened until only her fair skin remained. The agonized mother let out one last shaky breath of relief when the scorching pain disappeared. She opened her eyes and found Loki's light grey ones.

"Thank you.." she whispered before he watery eyes fixed on the blue sky, forever staring into the universe.

Hogun and his brother broke down in heart breaking screams of sorrow, while their grandfather silently wept over the body of his daughter.

Loki slowly arose. Around them, Lady Sif, Arya, Volstagg and Fandral had gathered. Respectfully they bowed their heads.

The young king shared a look with his brother. Thor nodded and lifted Mjölnir. With a deafening thunder the sky above the village ripped open and it started bucketing down, killing the remaining flames spread everywhere in the town. The place they were standing remained dry and light.

Loki ripped his eyes of the mourning family and left the circle of light to put out the magic flames which were immune to the rain. Within seconds he was soaked to the bone, his clothes dripping, his shoes immediately changing into his personal foot-baths. Yet the dark expression on his face didn't fade while the young king made his way to the flickering flames in front of him. He stretched his arms and focused. With new anger roaring through his veins, the flames died within seconds. Loki moved to the next building. He stretched his arms and focused once more.

"My king?" a sudden voice sounded through the rain. Loki didn't turn, but kept his attention fixed on the green bubble which was steadily consuming the flames on a what looked like a café.

Silent, splashing footsteps came closer. A dark silhouette flashed in the corner of Loki's eye.

Arya carefully looked at her king.

"This is not your fault…" she said after a short silence.

Loki didn't answer right away. He lowered his arms and stared at the burned down remains of the building in front of him.

"Hogun just lost his mother…" the young king finally answered. "If we'd been quicker… If I hadn't waisted so much time on Asgard… I could have saved her, Arya…"

The young Captain looked down. "You did what you could, my lord…" she answered. Her king turned to her and fixed his eyes on his Captain.

Arya was stunned to find a new kind of expression in Loki's light grey orbs. One of pure sadness and loss. She swallowed.

"Saving one mother will not bring back another…" she said after a short pained silence. Loki's eyes turned dark for a second and he snapped his head away from Arya's worried gaze.

Without saying another word, the young king turned his back to the young Captain and strode over to the next building.

Arya bit her lip. Maybe that had been a stupid thing to say. She turned around and wanted to make her way back to the others when a shocking sight drew her attention.

Beyond the curtain of rain, an enormous dust cloud appeared in the sky, covering the shining city underneath. Arya froze. The bandits had reached Storborg.

"We must leave…" a voice sounded right next to her ear. Arya jumped in surprise, only to find her king, soaked and dripping, standing next to her.

Loki locked his light grey eyes on Arya, who instantly felt as if her whole body had turned upside down. Only her fast beating heart gave her any notion of her whereabouts.

And just like that, Loki was gone, making his way back to his the others. The rest of the villagers had gathered in the circle of light, crying around bodies or helping the wounded. Lady Sif, Volstagg and Fandral were helping wherever they could while Thor was trying to calm Hogun's family down. Hogun himself was watching the events from a distant, the same old emotionless expression covering his face, although his eyes were still red and swollen after the tears he cried for his mother. The moment Loki entered the circle again, his friends looked up. The young king nodded at his brother. Thor looked up and just like that the pouring rain stopped, leaving the village drenched and soaked.

The commotion slowly died while Loki stepped forward. He took a deep breath, trying to put aside the aching feeling in his muscles after using too much magic.

"We need to leave…" he started. "These bandits have reached Storborg, we need to stop them now!"

Loki locked his eyes with his friends for a second. One by one they nodded and started to make their way back to their horses.

"Hogun!" Loki shouted, making the Vanaheimer stop in his tracks and turn around to face his king.

"Stay here…" Loki continued a lot calmer. "Stay with your family and your village. Take your wounded and your dead and bring them to Asgard. They shall have a heroes funeral. Asgard shall do everything in its power to rebuild your village and give back all that you've lost. Until then Asgard is your home."

Loki waited until the excited shouts of gratitude had faded before continuing.

"South West from here, there is another village, Hella. It has been pillaged as well. Go there and help where you can."

Hogun stared at Loki until an almost invisible smile formed on his lips. He bowed his head in respect.

"My apologies, but I would prefer to fight at your side until every single one of these bandits has been eliminated!" he said darkly. The Vanaheimer looked up. "My king…" he finished.

Loki smiled shortly. "So be it…" he answered. Bran, Hogun's younger brother stepped forward.

"Then I shall fulfil Hogun's task, my lord!" he declared with a small nod of his head. Hogun put one hand on his brother's shoulder before pulling him close for a brotherly hug.

"Loki…" Thor suddenly said while gesturing towards Storborg. Loki nodded. Waterlogged, he mounted his horse. The old man, Hogun's grandfather carefully approached.

Loki looked down on him and managed a friendly smile.

"Thank you, my king…" the old man said with tears glittering in his eyes. "But, I beg you… those bandits were dealing with dark forces, my lord. Invisible they were! And Dark, I tell you…"

With that said the man walked back, almost as if he was scared to say more.

Loki threw the old man one more look before turning his horse and setting of in a swift gallop. The others followed, dark expressions of anger and determination colouring their eyes as they sprinted towards the already burning skyline of Storborg.

* * *

**So, I hope I didn't ruin your beautiful day... And if I did... Eat some chocolate and you'll be fine ;)**

**Please let me know what you think! **

**Rumple x**


	46. Chapter 45

**Tadaaa! Exams are over! (still waiting for my results though...) I know I kept you waiting! So here you go!**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 45**_

"Loki! Fandral shouted while pulling his sword out of the belly of a six feet tall bandit. He turned to face The God of Mischief who was fighting next to him. Loki quickly slit two throats at once before turning.

"There're just too many!" Fandral shouted. The left side of his face was already scarred by a deep bleeding cut, but even if the golden warrior felt any pain, he refused to show it.

Loki ducked and let Fandral stab the bandit behind him, yet the moment his sword took hit, the bandit disappeared like a dust cloud in the wind.

Fandral sighed. "That's already the twentieth time!" he called out in frustration. Loki straightened up again and threw one of his daggers right past Fandral's ear to eliminate a female bandit who had crept up behind him.

"That's the problem!" Loki shouted back while the female bandit dissolved as well. "There're not many at all! They're illusions!"

Fandral frowned while avoiding a flying axe. "That's what I thought at first!" he declared. "But I thought illusions can't do any harm!" he said while gesturing at his face. "Look at my _façade_! The one who fixed me this put her arm right through me!"

Loki nodded while placing a well-aimed kick in a bandits back. For a couple of seconds both of them were busy fighting off their opponents. A sudden earthquake made every bandit fall to the ground. Only the illusions remained up straight. Loki and Fandral managed to do the same. They both searched for Thor who had obviously caused the earthquake, but the God of Thunder had already flown off. Loki and Fandral shared a look before fixing back on the remaining illusions. Now that they didn't have effect any longer, they all disappeared as one, leaving behind a dozen clumsy bandits who were trying to get on their feet once more. Loki and Fandral didn't waste any time and slashed their way through the bandits before a new set of illusions would appear.

Sadly, another group of at least fifty bandits, stormed their way.

The two warrior sighed.

"Sorry fellers!" Fandral shouted as they came closer. "I need to take a piss first!"

Loki laughed and pulled Fandral away from the battle towards a large building in the centre of the city. It used to be the local school, but now it had been transformed into a hospital/hiding place for the remaining people of Storborg. Loki ran straight for the wall. Just before he would have hit the hard dark stone, he waved his hand through the air. A ripped out door instantly appeared. The young king and the golden warrior rushed inside and Loki put the illusion of the wall back in place.

Breathing heavily, the two friends sank to the ground. They were immediately surrounded by a bunch of worried healers, but Loki waved them off.

Fandral threw him a playful and accusing glare.

"At least give me the chance to get a girl during my break!" he said with a grin.

Loki smiled shortly. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. He head was aching, as was the rest of his body.

Fandral looked worried.

"You're alright?" he asked after a short silence. Loki looked up and tried to smile, but his exhaustion was starting to show. They'd been fighting the bandits for three hours. Just the seven of them. Well, six since the last hour, because Arya had taken an ugly hit on the head from a rather big bandit. Volstagg had immediately taken her to the temporary hospital. Of course she'd woken up after five minutes, but the healers refused to let her go.

"I'm fine!" Loki answered shortly. He got to his feet, ignoring the scorching pain in his muscles and the pounding of his head and made his way towards the few improvised beds the healers had prepared for the wounded.

Loki searched for the annoyed face of his Captain, until a sudden darkness covered his view. The pounding of his head increased and the young king stumbled back. Fandral only just managed to keep him from falling.

Loki growled and rubbed his temples, waiting for his sight to return.

"Is it these sorcerers?" Fandral asked when Loki seemed to be able to stand up straight again. The young king didn't answer, but instead continued his search for Arya. He really wanted to see her right now. Her kind and ever excited appearance always gave him the strength to go on.

Fandral threw the young king a dark look, but Loki didn't even turn around. The golden warrior sighed. He wasn't stupid! He'd fought alongside Loki many times before. He knew when the younger prince was using too much magic and he knew what magic could do to others.

"Just let me go!" a sudden voice sounded. Both Loki and Fandral turned to the source. Arya pulled her arm from a healers grip and made her way to her bow and arrows which were stacked against the wall.

The annoyed healer followed her and tried to take hold of her arm once more, but Loki was first.

"Trust me, good healer," the young king said kindly, "she's able to fight!"

"My king, I do not think this wise!" the healer answered, but he knew better than to go against his king's wishes.

"We will keep an eye on your patient, sir!" Fandral joined in while winking towards Arya, who rolled her eyes and sighed. Loki scowled.

The healer raised his shoulders. He had other patients to attend to, so he turned around and left the trio behind.

"Thank you, my lord…" Arya said respectfully while picking up her bow.

"Your most welcome, my fair lady!"

"She was talking to me, idiot!" Loki answered immediately.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Fandral responded.

Loki raised his eyebrows and sighed.

"We better get going!" Loki said. "Enough resting!"

Fandral clapped his hands together.

"Action!" he exclaimed. "Let's g…"

"My Lord Fandral!" a worried voice sounded. Two female healers came rushing towards the trio, but only had eye for Fandral. Immediately the warrior had put on his most charming smile possible.

"You're hurt, my Lord!" one of the girls exclaimed while softly touching the bleeding cut on Fandral's forehead.

The golden warrior seemed confused at first, but quickly managed a painful scowl on his face.

Loki and Arya raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

"Oh yes…" Fandral said with a gasp. "Yes, I believe I am hurt… Very hurt… practically dying!"

The two healers giggled. "Let us help you , my lord…." The second girl said while gesturing to the hospital area of the building.

"Action, Fandral?" Loki asked playfully. The warrior threw him a big grin.

"Maybe later… I'll be there in a second…" he answered before turning back to the girls.

"Ladies, shall we?"

Arya and Loki watched the golden warrior walk off.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Loki whispered.

Arya smiled. "Let him get his kicks… Maybe he'll fight harder afterwards…"

Loki smiled. "Oh, he certainly will…"

It stayed silent for a while.

"My lord…" Arya suddenly started. Loki looked down. "There's magic here… we can all feel it… dark and powerful… Those illusions… they can hurt us! I thought that wasn't possible."

Loki smiled. "Everything is possible with magic… it depends on the way you use it! Nevertheless…"

Loki grew silent while a frown spread across his face. Arya waited patiently.

"Nevertheless… It takes a awful lot of magic, dark magic, to perform this kind of spell… And besides that, these sorcerers are invisible and… I believe they are, somehow, blocking the Bifröst.

Arya looked up in astonishment. "The Bifröst?" she asked in disbelief.

Loki nodded almost invisibly. "I felt it when we got here… some sort of pull at the Bifröst's beam… I thought it nothing, but now… it would explain why Heimdall dropped us so far from Storborg and why we still don't have any reinforcements."

Arya turned silent while all the colour drained from her face. The strength of the Bifröst was legendary. It could destroy worlds on its own! To know that it was being held back and controlled by dark – invisible – sorcerers…

Loki looked down and noticed Arya's fear…

"Of course it's only a guess!" he quickly added, immediately wondering why he was giving Arya false hope. He was never wrong! And he absolutely never gave people false hope!

Nevertheless Arya seemed to calm down a bit. That's when she noticed Loki's exhaustion, his pale face and tired eyes.

The young Captain frowned.

"My lord, are you sure you're all right?"

Loki snapped from his trance he'd just found himself in and tried to remember what Arya had asked. He smiled and from one second to the other his exhaustion disappeared.

Arya frowned. Loki had done that quit a lot in her presence. One moment he seemed to be an open book, waiting for someone to care, but the second somebody did, he would close up behind that brilliant smile.

"I fine…" Loki answered. "Great…"

Without saying another word the young king made his way towards the door. Arya sighed and followed. Before she knew it she was standing outside again.

The young Captain whistled between her teeth. "Oh damn…" she whispered. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. Almost everything was burned down or destroyed. The ground was littered with bodies of bandits, but most of all citizens who never made it to the school.

Loki put the illusion of the wall back in place and turned to Arya.

"Most of them are illusions, Arya…" he explained while gesturing to the fighting bandits.

"If we want to fight this battle, we'll have to get rid of them first! We're going to split up. Get the others and tell them to fall back! I'll create a diversion…"

Arya nodded. She took hold of her knife, knowing that if she was going to slash her way through lines of bandits, her bow wouldn't help.

Be quick and be careful!" Loki added sounding genuinely worried. Arya couldn't help but smile, yet her smile faded when another sight caught her eye. She looked skywards. Loki followed her stare. High in the sky they could see the blinding light of the Bifröst coming closer, but it seemed as if the rainbow collided with an invisible shield. The light disappeared, pulled back to Asgard.

Loki and Arya looked at each other. The young Captain wasn't able to hide her fear. Loki's predictions had been correct. Somehow the Bifröst was being controlled.

The young king smiled and tried to put his Captain at ease…

"Don't worry…." he said. "Once we discover these sorcerers everything will be all right!"

Arya smiled uneasily and Loki wondered once again why he was selling nonsense like this.

"Go now!" the young king ordered. Arya nodded, took a deep breath and threw herself into the fight.

Loki followed her with his eyes until she was nothing more than a dark shadow between the fighting bandits.

"Loki!"

The young king almost jumped a foot in the air when a sudden voice rang beside him. Fandral looked at him with an amused smile on his face.

"A bit distracted, are we?" the golden warrior asked gesturing to the spot where Arya had disappeared between the bandits. Loki scowled.

"You have to find Thor!" he answered shortly. "Tell him to get over here, I need him! And while you're at it, find the others and tell them to fall back. Arya is already searching."

Fandral nodded. "What are you going to do?" he asked while unsheathing his sword.

"We'll need to keep them busy while we're discussing our next move…" Loki answered. His eyes turned dark. "They're not the only one with a sorcerer in their midst!"

Fandral sighed.

"Loki!" he warned. "You're using too much! Maybe it's better to rest now and use your magic when we have to face these sorcerers!"

The young king turned and locked his eyes with Fandral's. "We're already facing them, Fandral!" he bit back. "Now do as your told!"

The golden warrior sighed, knowing too well that once Loki had set his mind on something there was no going back.

"Of course… my king…" he said, not able to hide his irony. Without another word Fandral rushed into the fight.

Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes. Fandral was right… and that scared the young king more than he was prepared to admit. He was dealing with forces beyond his own, but if he lost his magic… then things weren't going to end well!

The young king waited. Five minutes later Thor came flying towards him and landed next to Loki.

"What's your plan?" The God of Thunder asked, sounding out of breath.

Loki scowled. "I need a lift…" he admitted after a short silence. "Get me to a high spot where I have a good view over the fight!"

Thor grinned. "My pleasure!" he said while taking hold of the annoyed king.

And just like that, the God of Thunder took off, taking the young king with him. Ten seconds later they already landed on top of what probably had been the central watch tower. Under normal circumstances there would be an enormous bell hanging in the ridge of the roof, but right now it was lying five storeys down, together with most of the roof.

Thor dropped Loki harder than was necessary and the young king almost rolled off the tower, but he managed to break his fall. The God of Thunder looked down on his brother, scowling angrily, but Loki choose to ignore Thor's childish behaviour and got to his feet. He turned his back towards his brother and looked over the city.

Everywhere he looked he saw bodies of citizens covering the in blood drenched ground. Only a few bandits had joined them in death. To his left, the young king found Arya, now joined by Lady Sif, fighting her way over to another fighting figure, Hogun. To his right he spotted Fandral and Volstagg, currently making their way back to the school.

Loki closed his eyes and concentrated, ignoring Thor's staring eyes behind him.

Everywhere around them, groups of fighting illusions of Lady Sif, the Warriors Three and Arya appeared out of thin air and battled the bandits.

Loki opened his eyes. His illusions were far from what the other sorcerers had created, but they would have to do for now.

"Get me back to the school, we must regroup!" Loki ordered. Without further notice, Thor took hold of his younger brother once more and dragged him back to the ground.

With another painful and disgraceful landing Loki found himself back in front of the school where his friends were gathering.

"Aargh… really Thor?" Loki growled while scrambling to his feet and dusting off his ruined armour.

Thor only threw him a hateful scowl.

Loki stretched his neck and shook his head before fixing his attention on his friends. Without saying a word he gestured to the building. The illusion dissolved and the seven warriors entered the school.

"So what's the plan?" Sif asked while putting her sword and shield down. She sighed and sank down on the ground. The others followed her example. Only Loki remained standing.

The young king seemed lost in thought, so the female warrior repeated her question.

"I have a plan!" Loki interrupted. "But I doubt you'll like it!"

The others turned silent.

Loki paced around them for a couple more seconds before continuing.

"We need to get rid of these illusions, otherwise we'll never defeat these bandits." he started. "To do that, we need to find the sorcerers. I don't know how many there are, but they are powerful, skilled, dark and invisible!"

"So what do we do?" Fandral asked. "I don't want to spoil the fun, but we're no match for this."

"We've fought sorcerers in the past!" Sif interrupted. "We can do this!"

"Yes, but now we're talking about a group, Sif!" Fandral threw back. "And we can't even see them! How are we supposed to fight an invisible threat!"

"That's why we need to find them first. We have to force them to show themselves!"

"Any idea how we do that?" Volstagg asked.

"You don't do anything, I'll find them!" Loki answered. "I know what to look for. If I can drop my other illusions, I can focus on them and find them."

Arya nodded. "I take it you'll need back up?" she said.

Loki smiled. "Yes… Thor, Hogun and Sif will keep the bandits at bay! Fandral and Volstagg will stay here and protect the citizens. Once I drop the illusion on the building, the bandits might attack here. You, Arya, will come with me and keep every threat away while I'm searching!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But how will we defeat them, once they're found?" Hogun joined in. Loki turned silent while a dark scowl ran over his face.

"Dark magic is stronger than light magic. It always has been! It's easier to use power for bad purposes than good…"

"Your point being?" Thor asked angrily.

Loki didn't answer. Instead he turned his hand around and opened his palm. Inside lay the dark Valkyrie Stone. Everyone shivered when the cold darkness of the stone washed over them.

"No!" Thor roared while getting to his feet. The God of Thunder stepped forward until he was towering over his brother. His normally bright blue eyes were cold with hatred, but also fear.

"You use that stone and you bring everyone here in danger! You cannot control this, Loki!"

The young king scowled. "You know nothing, Thor! I can control this!"

"It will turn you mad!" Thor shouted back. "And then we have to deal with you as well! You're going to get us all killed!"

Loki smirked. "Why, Thor… That almost sounded as a complement."

Both brothers turned silent.

"It's the only way, Thor!" Loki continued. "You just cannot defeat darkness with light magic, and especially not this amount of dark magic! This is the only dark magic I know! I know how to use it and I know how to control it!"

"Thor…" Fandral voice sounded. "maybe this is the best way…"

Thor turned to his friend in disbelief, but the golden warrior didn't give in.

"As much as it pains me to say, Loki has done this before and for as far as I'm concerned, Asgard has never been better off. If the stone turned Loki 'mad' than it certainly hasn't had its influence."

"That was just one person, Fandral!" Thor bit back.

"The Allfather used dark magic to defeat stronger threats as well!" Fandral immediately answered.

"My father knew how to use it! He could control it!"

"So can I!" Loki shouted furiously. Thor turned back to his brother. Before he could stop himself, he'd push Loki backwards. The young king flew through the air and painfully hit the wall behind him. Within a second Thor was standing in front of him and pushed him hard against the wall.

"No, you can't!" she roared. Loki tried to free himself from Thor's grip.

"How would you know what I can do, Odinson?" he shouted. "You don't know me! You never cared! Don't you ever tell me what I can't do!"

"I do know you, Loki! I've watched you for a thousand years! Power is your weakness! Use this dark stone and you doom yourself!"

Loki finally managed to push Thor back. "I will use this stone, whether you like it or not! I can control it! It's the only way! Once their souls are taken, we kill the bodies and the threat is gone for good!"

"Thor, we don't have time to argue!" Sif shouted behind them. "If Loki thinks he can do it, then that's his decision, if he fails and turns dark, we'll kill him!"

Thor and Loki looked at the female warrior. Loki slowly nodded. "Fair enough…" he said while walking passed his brother.

"Once I located the sorcerers I will direct you to them. We'll corner them and I use the stone." Loki ordered the others.

"Will we be able to see them?" Fandral asked.

"I don't know… I depends on how many there are. If we manage to corner them, they might just drop their illusions to focus on us."

"All right!" Fandral shouted. "Sounds like fun to me!"

Volstagg smiled and hit his fellow warrior on the shoulder. "For Asgard!" he roared.

"You said it, my friend!" the golden warrior responded.

Everyone turned to Loki. The young king looked at them one by one, wondering if he had to give some boring speech about how they were going to succeed, but a loud crushing noise, coming from outside, reminded him of how little time they had.

He nodded and smiled. "To battle!"

* * *

**I know, maybe not that much yet... but more will come! I certainly hope you haven't given up on me yet (because some epic stuff is following! Just saying...)**

**Let me know what you think. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me any time! ;)**

**If you have any ideas, you can always PM me! Who knows... inspiration is always welcome! Holidays are coming up, so I'll have more time to write.**

**Please review :)**

**Thank you for reading so far!**

**Rumple x**


	47. Chapter 46

**HEY! Guess what... **

**I PAST MY EXAMS... all except one... but that doesn't matter because... even better... **

**I GRADUATED! read it again... I GRADUATED! OMG I DID!**

**And now I'm ready for University... I guess...**

**Anyway, I know I promised a quick update, but you see holidays... I was in London. So every Londoner (or London tourist) reading this: if you saw a group of crazy and disturbing Belgians during the first week-ish of July... That was us... I LOVE LONDON! (and Shakespeare, and Harry Potter, and Billy Elliot, and freaking the whole of London)**

**Whatever, start to read, people! I believe this is the longest chapter I've written until now, meaning that if you see spelling mistakes, please don't kill me! I'm just too freaking lazy to edit properly!**

**ENJOY**

* * *

_**Chapter 46**_

Loki took a deep breath. He was getting tired, but he refused to give in. Arya threw him an encouraging smile… or was she just smiling of excitement? After all, they had a plan now!

The young king sliced his way through the bandits. One by one they dissolved in the air, only one time a painful scream cut through Loki's soul. Arya was fighting right behind him, moving like a dark and swift shadow. The dissolving illusions around her created a waving cloud which caught the bright sunlight like a diamond. Loki smiled. Her eternal enthusiasm gave him the strength to keep going. With every step they took, the pair got closer to what had been the local open theatre. It had no solid roof, but was covered in a big transparent glass dome. Storborg was known far and wide as the city of light because of the constant reflected sunlight. Inside, the theatre existed of one round stage in the middle, surrounded by rows of seats climbing to the sky. Right now, most of the famous beauty of the theatre had been destroyed. The glass dome was broken, sparkling splinters now covering the stage and seats. The carved wooden door had been ripped out of its hinges and one side of the building had been transformed into a ruin. Nevertheless, it was as good as empty. No bandit found it necessary to keep an eye on the theatre.

When the duo finally reached the door, they were out of breath. Both of them stumbled inside and sank to the ground.

After a couple of seconds Loki took a deep breath and turned to his Captain.

"I presume the sorcerers will notice I'm searching for them. Once they do, they will probably send their forces inside. Then it's your turn! You'll have to keep them away until I'm done. I don't know how long it will take… If you see they'll overrun you, you fall back and you leave me behind! Is that understood?"

Arya smiled and shook her head. "With all due respect, sire, but I will go down fighting!"

Loki sighed but smiled. He didn't have time to argue about this.

The young king took a deep breath.

"Right then, we'll better get started…" he said.

For a second, Arya looked worried, but she quickly forced a serious expression on her face. She knew this was the only way…

Loki nodded and Arya got back to her feet. She readied her bow and smiled to her king who was still sitting at her feet.

"Good luck, sire!" she said.

Loki smiled back before closing his eyes. He crossed his legs and set up straight. Now it was only a matter of concentrating. Slowly, all sounds faded, making place for the steady beating of his heart and slow breath. Loki put his hands on his knees. Now it was just him and his magic, raging through his veins. No Storborg, no theatre, no fighting…

The young king took another breath before focusing on the present magic. With an enormous burst of magic he forced a thin, almost invisible layer of energy to flow from his body over the ground and creep further over the battlefield and the rest of Storborg. Further and further, faster and faster. Every time he passed an illusion, Loki's senses would peek and inform him of the possibility of a sorcerer, but the young king ignored them. He knew the actual sorcerers would feel a lot stronger than the illusions. Just when Loki started worrying that he wouldn't find anything useful, he hit upon an extremely strong and dark source of magic. Loki opened his eyes, but he didn't see the theatre. He was watching on the spot where he'd found the source through the eyes of one of his own invisible illusions. There was nothing to see, but Loki could feel the presence of something powerful. The young king forced a new wave of magic through his fingertips to flood the ground. The air above the source started flickering and then, just like that, a man appeared. He was tall and completely hidden underneath his dark cloak. His arms were stretched in Loki's illusion's direction, his palms facing forward. In the skin of the man's palms Loki could spot a weird symbol existing out of three curled up lines, all connected in the middle.

The young king frowned, although his projection didn't show that emotion. He knew that symbol. It had been a while since he'd last seen it, but still… it would never leave his memory. The only problem was that he'd never expected to see it on this dark sorcerer. It was the symbol of Merlin, after all. A symbol of light.

Loki wasn't given much time to think about it, because the dark sorcerer lifted his head. From underneath his dark hood, two yellow eyes lit up and revealed a wicked smile.

Suddenly Loki hit upon two other sorcerers, quickly followed by another three. Every time, the young king send another projection towards the source. One by one the sorcerers became visible. All six of them, hidden underneath their dark robes and burned with Merlin's symbol in their palms.

Loki swallowed and shivered on his spot in the theatre. Although his light grey eyes were staring into the world, he only saw what his projections were broadcasting. Six different views, spread over the battlefield. Six… Six skilled and dark sorcerers who didn't seem impressed or alarmed by the fact that Loki had discovered them. They just remained calm and didn't move a muscle nor did they drop their spells.

And then, out of nowhere, an ice cold voice echoed through the young king's mind.

_Loki, Son of Odin, Son of Laufey… Apprentice of Frigga, child of two worlds, king of lies and mischief,… You truly are a powerful sorcerer… _

Loki shivered and almost lost control over his projections. Feverishly he searched for the sorcerer who was speaking to him, but none of the six was preforming this kind of spell. There had to be another sorcerer somewhere. One Loki couldn't find… One who could hide… And one who was powerful enough to create a link without Loki's permission. The young king knew he was in danger. Someone was inside his mind. Dark memories of the time he was still connected with The Other drifted through his mind, but Loki forced them to disappear. He had to be careful now. Any sign of fear could be used against him.

_Who are you?_ Loki asked.

A creepy laugh echoed through the young king's mind.

_Do not pretend you do not know us…_

Loki frowned. He really had no idea who he was talking to.

_Please, enlighten me…_

It stayed silent for a couple of seconds.

_Your power is failing… _the voice continued, ignoring Loki's question. _You are strong, yet tired. Join us and you will become even greater…_

Loki shook his head. For some reason he had the idea that there was something he didn't know. Something he definitely was supposed to know, or at least remember. This sorcerer was talking to him as if they'd already met.

_Why are you here? What are you trying to accomplish? These people have done nothing to you…_

Again that hollow laugh. Loki felt his magic weaken. He forced a new wave of energy out his body.

_These people are not our target… they are only a distraction, a call for your attention…_

_My attention?_

_We have awaited this moment for decades… Loki, Son of Frigga, master of lies, hidden frost giant… the time has come to join us…Together we…_

A sudden scream ripped Loki from his trance. Someone tripped over his leg and fell back into his lap. With a shaky breath Loki came back to the theatre. The sunlight cut into his open eyes while all his magic uncontrollably burst back into his body.

The young king wanted to scream when the amount of energy burned his skin and muscles, but his voice got stuck in his throat. Blinking confusedly, Loki looked down and found Arya in his arms. The young Captain looked bewildered when her emerald eyes met Loki's.

"My lord, look out!" she screamed when a shadow suddenly arose behind Loki's back. The young king didn't hesitate and quickly rolled aside, with Arya still in his arms.

Loki looked up. He didn't know how long he'd been in trance, but the theatre was crowded with bandits. Arya was cut in several places, but she didn't show any sign of pain. Again three bandits attacked. Automatically Loki pushed Arya behind him and stretched his arm in his attackers' direction. With an enormous blast, the three bandits were thrown back.

Arya lifted her head and witnessed her king's magical attack. Clumsily, she got back to her feet. Just in time, because without warning, Loki suddenly stumbled backwards. Arya only just managed to keep him on his feet.

"My lord?" she asked. Loki's eyes turned away. For a second Arya could feel his weight increase in her arms, but the young king opened his eyes and forced himself to get back up.

"Time to fall back…" Loki said in a hoarse voice. Arya nodded and pulled her king away from the battle. Loki stumbled behind her. The colours around him started melting into each other. Somewhere he heard Arya call for Sif and Hogun. A gust of wind announced Thor's presence as well. Before Loki knew it he found himself back inside the school. Without further notice he sank to the ground, ignoring all the worried expression around him and. Loki pulled up his knees and buried his face in his clothes before closing his eyes. He felt as if the universe was spinning around him at a thousand miles an hour. He could still feel the slight pressure of the sorcerer in his mind which meant the link was still there.

"Loki!" Sif's voice sounded. Two hands tried to lift his head, but Loki shook them of.

"Seven…" Loki eventually muttered. He lifted his head and let his eyes adjust to the light while sounds of battle slowly found their way through. In front of him he could see three vague silhouettes which slowly got form. Fandral, Sif and Arya all stared at him with worried expressions covering their faces.

"Seven…" Loki repeated tiredly. "There're seven of them… and they're more powerful than I already thought, especially their leader…"

_Leader… I'm not our leader… We don't have a leader, not anymore…_ the cold voice sounded in Loki's head.

The young king winced and rubbed his eyes.

"They're here for me apparently…" Loki continued, trying to ignore the sorcerer in his mind. "And there's one other thing…"

Loki turned silent for a second. His friends waited patiently.

"They bear the mark of Merlin…"

Sif and Fandral shared a look, pure fear and worry colouring their faces.

Loki noticed. Again he got the feeling there was something he needed to know.

The young king sighed. "If there is any dirty secret I'm not aware of, I demand you to tell me right now!"

Fandral and Sif turned quiet. Arya watched the two warriors with the same questioning look on her face as Loki.

"Seven you said?" a low voice suddenly sounded behind them. Fandral, Sif and Arya looked up. Loki turned around and found Thor standing behind him. For the first time in weeks, the God of Thunder didn't cast his usual scowl on Loki. Thor seemed genuinely worried and scared.

"Yes…" Loki confirmed. It stayed silent for a couple of seconds. "Anything you want to say, Thor?" Loki asked viscously.

The God of Thunder seemed to hesitate.

"Tell me, Thor!" Loki shouted furiously.

Thor sighed.

"Please, don't ask, Loki. It would burn you and turn you mad…"

If he hadn't been so tired, Loki would have started screaming against his brother, but right now he only stared back in disbelief.

Thor's expression turned sad. "There are things that are better kept quiet…" he said. "Yet one day, the truth will see the light, one way or another. I'll tell you everything you ought to know once the battle is fought."

Loki couldn't believe what he was hearing, but his exhausted mind couldn't find the strength to argue.

_You truly have no idea who we are… _the sorcerer sounded. Loki growled and rubbed his forehead before answering.

_You have no idea who you're dealing with. Surrender or die! You will not find here what you are searching for!_ _If I must, I will use other powers to destroy you! _

The sorcerer laughed hoarsely. _Oh, so I see… The Valkyrie stone… how exciting! Your knowledge of darkness is great, but lacks perfection. We can teach you this…_

_Why me? Why come to me?_

_Don't you crave for power, Loki Laufeyson… Don't you desire strength? To be stronger than that fool of a brother? Stronger than anyone, even the Allfather?_

Loki swallowed. They were reading his thoughts. The young king turned to Sif.

"Remember what you promised Sif…" he started. "One sign of darkness and you kill me!"

Sif frowned. Loki seemed worse than ever. One moment he was present, the other his eyes dulled.

"Loki, what's going on?" she asked worriedly, but the young king seemed far away.

_Join us, Loki! Together we can rule the universe! Even the great Thanos will fear us and bow at our feet!_

Loki shook his head. "Shut up!" he shouted. His friends threw him a questioning glare, but the young king ignored them.

_Leave me alone! _he shouted back inside his head.

"We need to finish this!" Loki suddenly said. Fandral Sif and Arya looked up in surprise.

"My lord, you can't!" Arya said. Loki threw her an angry look.

"We don't have time, Arya!" he bit back while he tried to get on his feet once more. Fandral took his arm and pulled him back up.

"Loki, this is madness!" the golden warrior shouted.

The young king smiled shortly. "Good, that's right up my alley!"

"At least let someone come with you!" Fandral continued, but Loki shook his head.

"Not a chance! If I can't control his stone, it's safer not to be around me!"

Fandral opened his mouth to argue, but Loki threw him a meaningful look.

"That's an order!"

Without another word, Loki strode back to the ripped out door where Volstagg and Hogun were still fighting of the remaining bandits.

"Thor!" Loki shouted.

One second later a powerful earthquake raged through the city. All bandits dropped and the illusions dissolved.

"Everyone eyes on me, but keep your distance. I'll direct you to the sorcerers. Try to keep them busy until I get there!"

"Loki, this is not a good idea!" Thor interrupted. Loki turned to his brother. Every second they wasted here complaining, meant more chance for Loki to finally collapse.

"Nobody asked for your opinion, Thor!

Before anyone could say anything else, Loki threw himself into the fight. The others followed.

The young king closed his eyes and focused.

_You cannot beat us, silver tongue… _a voice sounded, but Loki ignored it. He started running.

"Fandral! With me!" Loki shouted. A golden flash informed him that Fandral was following. Loki kept running to one of the spots he'd felt the presence of a sorcerer. There was nothing to see, but Loki knew the sorcerer was there. Loki lifted his hands and blasted a wave of energy towards the one spot. Immediately the invisibility spell dropped and the sorcerer became visible. Fandral threw himself forward, but was blasted away by a simple wave of the man's hand. Loki attacked again. The sorcerer stumbled back which gave Fandral just enough time to charge. The man screamed when Fandral's sword cut through his dark robes.

_Impressive… _the voice echoed. _Let's make it more interesting shall we…_

Loki felt another power source close in.

"Fandral! Behind you!"

The golden warrior ducked aside and sliced blindly. Loki threw another wave of energy to the invisible newcomer who immediately became visible.

The second sorcerer charged towards Fandral, but got interrupted when Arya and Sif suddenly joined the fight.

In the next ten minutes the six sorcerers assembled around Loki while his friends joined the fight one by one. The illusions of the bandits were dropped. Now it was only the two fighting groups that remained. Although the six sorcerers were visible, the seventh was still only a voice in Loki's head which kept tormenting the young king with every step he took.

_You fight with bravery, young ruler… _the voice sounded. _Your men are failing! Stop fighting us… join us!_

Loki winced and answered. _What could you possibly have to offer me?_

A low snigger sounded. _Everything!_

_Who are you?_

_We are legend, Loki… Our tale is old, yet our master will never leave memory. I would expect a sorcerer like you would know of us…_

_Your master? _Loki asked in surprise. _You said you didn't have a master!_

_Our master is long gone… he was murdered by none other than The Allfather, Odin… a fool who feared real power!_

Loki frowned. He should have remembered that!

"Why me?" Loki shouted out loud while searching his surroundings for a sign of the seventh sorcerer. "Why come to me?"

Again that snigger.

_You truly are ignorant… I wonder why…_

Loki growled in anger. "What don't I know?" he shouted infuriated. "Who are you! What do you want from me?"

_Your mother was a legendary witch… A true apprentice of my Master. Yet she lacked the intellect to make the right choice. Maybe she was weak as Odin, afraid of the powers we wielded._

Loki's eyes turned dark. He blindly burst a wave of energy through the air.

"How dare you insult my mother! And don't you ever compare her to Odin! She was nothing like him!"

_Although you are not connected by blood, you do share your persistence with your mother! _

"You don't speak of her!" Loki bit back, only to be laughed at inside his head.

_You fool… You cannot stop us! We fooled your mother, we deceived your father… you think you stand any chance?_

Loki wanted to answer when a sudden ice cold feeling spread over his whole body. The young king felt his legs lose strength, his view melted into one of pure darkness, all sounds faded… And then he opened his eyes. Storborg had disappeared . Instead he was facing a familiar scene. He was standing in his mother's chambers, back on Asgard.

Loki cursed under his breath. They'd done it. They'd put an idea inside his mind. The young king scanned his surroundings. Although the image was still getting formed, the detail was fantastic, which probably meant that this wasn't just an idea, but an actual memory. Loki looked down. He didn't have a body, he was just part of this memory, looking at the scene from the eyes of the seventh sorcerer.

Why were they on Asgard and why were they inside his mother's chambers. And more importantly, _when_ were they?

Loki's heart stopped beating when a sudden figure formed in front of him. There she was, in all her glory. Queen Frigga, his mother, his tutor, his everything! Her bright eyes were filled with determination, hate and above all power. Her normally soft, gentle hands were clenched fists. Her golden hair shone in the evening sun which was colouring the room. Loki smiled. His mother looked younger, maybe a few millennia… The strong stab of grief tortured his heart, yet the joy of seeing her once again washed over his pain.

_Your father was pathetic to think that he could beat us! Us, The Great Seven! _The sorcerers voice sounded through Loki's mind while the memory got better formed. _He had killed our Master on Midgard, but we escaped! In search for a new leader, we chose your mother, Queen Frigga. Who was better qualified than her? After all, she was our ticket into Asgard and to the power we deserved. Queen Frigga, mother of the worlds and strong as our master. Queen Frigga, apprentice of Merlin! Alas, she declined our offer! Now Frigga has left these realms. We trust she taught you everything her master ever told her and more! Follow us, Loki! We will make you stronger! We will make you our leader! Finish Merlin's noble work!_

Loki was frozen. His heart stopped beating, his breath got stuck in his throat. All the joy he'd felt faded away to reveal a sickening feeling in his stomach.

_Merlin?_ he thought. _The Merlin…_

The young king tried to recall the day he'd received the sad news that his idol, the Great Merlin, had passed on. He remembered he'd promised himself that day that he wouldn't rest until he could call himself Merlin's equal.

_That's a lie! _Loki shouted back.

_I can see the betrayal now… _the sorcerer sounded. _Your mother tried to protect you… pathetic! Oh my… You're a child of lies, my lord!_

Loki wanted to shout something back, if only to deny his mother's lie, but when he thought back of Thor's, Sif's and Fandral's faces when they heard about The Seven, he knew it had to be true.

A low laugh sounded through Loki's head while a grave sadness took hold of his broken heart. Another lie… one of many… Did they honestly think him that weak! Did she! His mother, who had told him he was strong!

_I sense your anger, silver tongue… Use it, capture it! It will make you stronger! Let me show you the truth!_

Before Loki's very eyes, the memory started moving. Loki got pulled away from the body of the seventh sorcerer until he found himself floating a bit to the side where he could see everyone. He looked down and discovered he had his own body, if only a poor projection of it.

Apparently he'd been standing on the small balcony, facing the gardens of Asgard. The Seven were standing in formation with their backs to the outside world. This time they weren't wearing their hoods, so Loki could see their faces. To his surprise he recognized two dark elves and one light elf. The others were Asgardians or Vanaheimers. The seventh sorcerer, being a dark elf, stepped forward, a wicked grin scarring his face.

He looked down on Frigga and smiled.

"Queen Frigga, Allmother and apprentice of Merlin, we give you the chance to join us, lead us in our mission!"

Frigga laughed, but it was nothing like the cute, ringing laughter Loki craved to hear. It was filled with disgust and pity.

"Ruling the realms by means of darkness is hardly a mission! It is utter madness! Even my master, Merlin, wouldn't have wanted this to happen! He was grieved and broken! A broken man does strange things! You are nothing more that monsters in search for blood!"

"Monsters you say…" the seventh sorcerer answered. "Like your bastard son, you mean! I'd say that our Queen is attracted to monsters."

"Don't you say one word about Loki! You will not use my family against me! You will fall in the depths of your own darkness!"

Loki felt a spark of proud warm his cold heart.

The seventh sorcerer made a clacking sound with his tongue. "You're pathetic, woman! Very well! But we will avenge our master! If you don't follow us, you will bow at our feet or die!

The next second hell broke loose. The seven sorcerers attacked as one. Frigga blocked the first attacks, but her shield cracked under the amount of energy. The beautiful queen was thrown back.

Loki screamed when he saw his mother hit the ground painfully. He rushed forward but when he altered to touch his mother, his hand went right through her fragile body. Loki looked up when another sound caught his attention. A low scream rang though the air when a blond boy jumped from behind a pillar.

Loki's eyes grew big when recognized the younger of his brother. Thor's eyes were filled with utter panic and fear and that one look Loki could only describe as : "I have no idea what I am doing!" and which he'd seen in Thor's eyes many times before.

The young, blond prince sprinted in Loki's direction, simply ran through his body and threw Mjölnir towards the seven sorcerers.

The Seven were taken by surprise and attempted to produce a shield. However, Mjölnir was known to be stronger than any kind of dark or light magic. In fact it was so perfectly balanced that it's power had no equal, except maybe an Infinity Stone.

The shield was blown to pieces and The Seven were thrown back. One by one they hit the ground and remained there, dazed and paralysed. At the same time, the doors of Frigga's chambers were busted open and Odin stormed inside, followed by at least two dozen warriors.

The Allfather cast a look on his pale son and his wife who was crawling back on her feet. She made eye contact with her husband and nodded, showing nothing but sadness on her otherwise cheerful face.

Odin ripped his eyes from his family and made his way to the seven sorcerers who were currently being pulled on their knees. Each one of them got a pair of magical handcuffs to keep them from using any kind of magic.

With darkness filling his eyes, the Allfather looked down on The Seven.

"According to the laws of the nine realms you are sentenced to death!" he roared. "To insure that you will not escape me a second time, your sentence will be performed right here and right now!"

The Seventh sorcerer looked up at the Allfather. Loki, who had been standing with his distressed mother and scared to death brother, walked closer so he could follow their conversation.

"Mark my words, Allfather! One day we will return! No one can hide! Not you, not your wife, not your fool of a son and not that bastard frost giant!"

Odin didn't show any emotion. He stepped away and nodded at the seven warriors standing behind the sorcerers. The warriors lifted their swords and watched their General, waiting for the final order. Odin lifted his arm.

"Asgard will always be protected by its forces!" the Allfather spoke. "Magic and sword alike! And even when I have passed on, the realms will stay protected by Thor's great powers on one side and Loki's magic and knowledge on the other! One spark of light is enough to conquer a world of darkness! I have two!"

Without another word, Odin pulled his arm down. Loki closed his eyes. He never enjoyed executions!

And just like that, Loki felt darkness take hold of him when he was dragged away from the memory, back to Storborg.

The young king gasped for breath and opened his eyes. The stench of blood, death and fire cut in his nose. He was lying on his back in the mud. Brilliant! Above him he saw the towering figure of the seventh sorcerer. The reason Loki knew it was him was because he'd lowered his hood. The Dark Elf was grinning down on him with in his hand…. The Valkyrie Stone.

Loki froze once more. He didn't hear any fighting… Slowly the young king crawled to his feet, not once taking his eyes of the sorcerer standing in front of him. The young king scanned his surroundings. How long he'd been out, he didn't know, but the other six sorcerers had succeeded in overpowering his friends. They were standing in a circle, every single one holding one of his friends. Only Thor was lying unconscious on the ground, the mighty Mjölnir only a few meters away.

While taking a deep breath, Loki turned back to the seventh sorcerer. The Dark Elf smiled wickedly while playing with the stone in his hand.

"Looks like you just lost your plan!" he snarled. "Tell me, silver tongue. What now?"

Loki swallowed. He thought about his mother's resistance. Even though he somewhere wanted to take the offer, he couldn't drop the feeling that his mother would be devastated.

"No!" Loki said after a short silence.

The Dark Elf scowled.

"So you chose to be the toy of Odin! Nothing more than a stringed puppet like your brother! You could be stronger! Greater!"

"I don't do alliances!" Loki answered in a low voice while stretching his fingers behind his back, crackling with energy.

The seventh sorcerer scowled. "Very well… Unlike some, I have been presented with a plan B!"

For a second the sorcerer turned silent. The other six looked up at him and Loki knew he'd send them a message.

The Dark Elf let his eyes scan Loki's body. He almost seemed disappointed.

"It's a pity, really…" he said while re-establishing the eye contact. "Such a loss of potential power…"

At the same time Loki and the sorcerer threw their arms forward. Two waves of energy crushed into each other and threw both sorcerers back. As a result the energy blasted over the battlefield, giving Arya, Sif and the Warriors Three just enough time to distract their attackers and break free. With a loud roar the battle started again. Thor awoke again and joined the fighting.

Loki rushed forward and charged the seventh sorcerer, but just before he managed to strike, the Dark Elf grinned and disappeared. Loki looked bewildered. The sorcerer had transported himself. The young king looked around and found that the other six sorcerers had done the same thing. Much time to think about it, he didn't have because the remaining bandits stormed upon the scene.

"Loki!" Arya's voice sounded. "My lord!"

The young Captain rushed to Loki's side.

"What do we do? The stone is gone!"

Volstagg joined them. "We must fall back, Loki! If they use that stone…"

"Silence!" the young king shouted. "You finish off these bandits! The Seven will not use the stone against us! If they wanted to, they would have done so already! They're up to something else! I'll find out what it is!"

"Loki, we are tired! We cannot fight these bandits any longer!"

"That was an order, Volstagg!"

Loki turned around, stumbled forward a few steps before finding his balance again. Dark spots were gathering at the side of his view, but the young king shook them off.

"Thor!" he shouted. The God of Thunder landed at his side. "You'll come with me! Mjölnir is the only thing that can stop these guys."

Thor frowned and looked down on his brother. One look was enough to tell him what had happened. Loki looked dreadful. His face was pale as ice, his eyes were red and swollen as if he'd been crying.

"They showed you…" Thor said in a low voice. "That's why you fainted…"

Loki didn't respond. The young king closed his eyes for a second and focused on his surroundings. He should be able to feel seven strong sorcerers. There you had it. South-west of Storborg.

Loki opened his eyes and started running. Thor followed.

"Loki!" the God of Thunder shouted. "You need to listen to me! What you saw… You have to understand that mother was only trying to protect you!"

Loki laughed hoarsely. "Protect me!" he spit out. "Protect me? It seems as if that's the only thing everyone ever tried to do! Protect weak, little, puny Loki! Protect me from everything that I called my own! Look where it got me!"

"It doesn't matter where it got you, Loki! All that matters is what you chose to do with what you have now!" Thor shouted back.

Loki stopped running. He was out of breath and stumbled backwards. "Don't you see, Thor!" he called out, sounding more desperately than Thor thought possible. To be honest, it rather scared him. Loki always had a plan.

"Don't you see! I don't _have_ anything! My magic isn't strong enough, I lost the stone, we have no backup, no plan anymore and everyone is tired! We are done for! I don't even know what I'm doing anymore!"

Loki broke down in tears. Even the young king was surprised by his sudden breakdown. Thor looked around him, completely taken aback.

"Brother…" he tried. "Listen, no one ever said you had to stand alone… You said it yourself! We have Mjölnir! Sounds like a plan to me…"

Loki smirked. What a plan…

"Thor, it's a mystery to me how it is that we are still alive…"

Thor grinned widely. "I believe you played a big part in that…"

Loki smiled shortly. "Obviously!"

Unexpectedly the temperature dropped. Dark clouds assembled above Storborg. Loki and Thor shared a look, watching their breath form white clouds in the air.

"Loki…" Thor whispered while a sickening feeling filled his being. "What's happening?"

Loki wanted to answer when a sudden agonizing pain spread over his body. The young king wanted to scream, but his voice got stuck in his throat. From one moment to the next, Loki collapsed on the ground while the world spun around him.

"Loki!" Thor shouted while catching his brother just in time. The young king gasped for breath and shivered uncontrollably in the cold air.

Thor shouted his brother's name over and over again while memories of the day Merlin had died came to the surface.

"The… The st… stone…" Loki whispered. Thor looked up. His eyes fixed on a small group in the distance. An ice cold wind seemed to be blowing from their direction. The Seven…

Hurried footsteps rushed closer.

"What happened?" Arya's distressed voice sounded. The Captain knelt down next to Loki's shivering body. Two other pair of feet came to a halt as well.

Thor looked up and found Fandral and Sif staring down at him. Both of his friends knew exactly what was happening.

"It's the stone!" Thor explained. While turning his attention back on his brother.

Sif frowned. "But why does the dark magic affect him now? I mean… there's been some strong dark magic here today…"

Fandral raised his shoulders while throwing a worried look on the God of Mischief. "Maybe this one is stronger…"

Thor shook his head. "No… these sorcerers are capable of controlling the Bifröst. It must be something else…"

Arya threw her friends a questioning look. "Can someone tell me what is going on?" she asked in despair. From her point of view her king was dying!

Fandral and Thor quickly explained the situation.

"So your saying that Loki is responding on Merlin's dark magic…" Arya asked afterwards.

"Yes!" the three friends answered in unison.

"And the Queen stopped it…"

"Yes, she did!" Thor answered.

"What if…" Arya started. The others fixed their attention on her. The young Captain swallowed.

"What if Queen Frigga didn't just stop the influence of the Dark Magic…"

"What are you suggesting!" Thor shouted. He was getting scared. Loki was getting colder by the minute. They had to stop the sorcerers, but he couldn't leave Loki either.

"What if Queen Frigga protected Loki from any Dark Magic from that day forward? It would explain why he survived the wormhole, why he's capable of resisting the Dark Magic enough to use the Valkyrie Stone…"

"Maybe…" Fandral answered impatiently. "But what does that have to do with the current events?"

"It's logical that Queen Frigga protected Loki from any kind of Magic she possessed. Any kind of magic in existence. That didn't include Merlin's! He was already gone!"

"Yes…" Sif answered confusedly. "Your point being?"

"This stone is used to control ones soul. What if these sorcerers found a way to bring a soul back permanently without the need of a body. What if they plan to resurrect… Merlin?"

The four remained silent before they turned their gaze on the seven sorcerers.

-xxx-

Loki tried to scream. Nothing. He tried to breath. Nothing. His body felt like ice. His heart was failing. What was happening! The young king recognized the cold stabs of Dark Magic in his soul, yet it had never had this effect.

_Get a hold on yourself! _He screamed to himself. _You know how to control this! _

Loki forced himself to breath. His view was blurred. All he saw were four dark spots, drawn against the grey sky. He could hear a voice. A clear, kind voice. Arya… She was talking about something his mother had done.

Loki growled. There was no way he was going to die here! In the arms of his perfect brother! He wasn't weak! He didn't need protection!

The young king closed his eyes, took a deep raspy breath and opened his light grey eyes onto the world once more.

-xxx-

"I'm afraid you're right… Arya…" a hoarse voice sounded. The four turned back as one and watched Loki push himself back up. The young king almost resembled a living corpse by now.

"Loki, you can't go any further!" Thor immediately shouted, but the young king ignored him.

Loki's eyes fixed on the three newcomers. "I thought I told you to fight the bandits!" he shouted.

Arya, who seemed rather relieved that her king was somewhat back, smiled and answered: "The villagers decided to join the fight. Volstagg and Hogun are still there, but the battle is almost won!"

Arya's smile faded when her eyes found The Seven again. "Of course, that won't matter if they are actually bringing Merlin back…Then we're just…"

"Doomed…" Loki finished, following her gaze. The young king tried to get on his feet, but his insides were burning.

"Loki, please…" Thor tried again, but his brother didn't listen.

"The only thing that can stop them is probably Mjölnir. Nevertheless, I doubt they haven't thought of that yet. I presume they have some kind of protection. If and only if you have a chance to get to them, I'm pretty sure you'll only have one!"

Loki tried to move forward, but his feet were failing so he was forced to grab Thor's arm to remain standing.

"Now," the young king continued before anyone could say anything. "Why don't we just skip the part where you try to stop me and just get this over with!"

Loki didn't wait for an answer. Instead he used all the power he had left to move his feet in the right direction.

Thor shared a look with his friends, knowing it was completely hopeless to try convincing Loki to fall back. The four friends stared at each other. Especially Thor, Sif and Fandral knew what was really going on. The chances of not coming back were real.

Fandral laughed shortly. "It has been an honour fighting alongside you, my friends!" he said with a wink towards Arya. Thor and Sif nodded before following Loki to their certain doom.

With every step they took, the air got colder and heavier. At one point Loki couldn't go further. It was as if an invisible force was pushing him back. The others felt the same.

All five of them stared to the small circle ahead of them. In the centre of the circle a dark cloud had started to form.

"You hear that?" Arya shouted. Her voice almost disappeared in the loud wind spiralling around the circle.

Loki nodded. The air seemed filled with silent whispers. The whispers of the dead he knew.

"Thor!" the young king called out. "It's now or never!"

Yet the God of Thunder didn't answer. Loki turned around and saw his brother struggling with his hammer.

"I can't…" Thor eventually said in surprise. " It's this force… I can't move!"

Loki had to agree. The cold was starting to get a grip on his already burning muscles as if it tried to pull him down to the ground.

The young king looked around. All colour was draining from his friends' faces.

"Guys!" the young king shouted, but his friends slowly sank to the ground with only a blank expression in their eyes. Loki fought off the growing pain. The spell wasn't effecting him as much as his friends. Maybe what Arya had said was true… Maybe he was more immune thanks to his mother's protection.

"Stop this!" Loki shouted against the raging storm. "You cannot control a mad soul! The dead remain dead!"

_Once our master has returned, no force will stop us! _The seventh sorcerer sounded in Loki's mind. _The time of darkness has come, young king!_

Loki screamed in agony while grabbing his head. He closed his eyes. Suddenly the ground was right underneath him. Loki looked at his hands. A small layer of ice was starting to form over his skin. A deep darkness crept upon his view while his insides burned.

"Loki!" a weak voice sounded right next to him. The young king managed to look up to find his brother's blue eyes. "We have fought till the end!" the God of Thunder announced. "It has been an honour!"

Thor reached out and Loki grabbed his arm. The young king smiled. "Careful I don't play another trick on you, brother…"

Thor laughed hoarsely. Both brothers turned towards The Seven. In the middle of the circle the dark cloud started to get a human form. The ground was covered in ice by now.

"Master!" one of sorcerers shouted while The Great Merlin slowly appeared. His eyes were red and burned like fire in his skull. An evil grin cut through his face.

Loki and Thor shared one final look before…

A blinding flash of white light spread over the grounds followed by an enormous strong blast of energy. Loki and Thor ducked down and watched The Seven being thrown back through the air. A warm breeze chased the coldness away. For a second the two brothers felt a familiar warm sensation warm their frozen bodies. Loki looked up and blinked confusedly. There, in the middle of the broken circle stood another blazing figure. A woman dressed in golden ropes, which moved around her like wings. Her golden hair waved in the wind and glowed in the brightness she shed over the ground. A pair of bright blue eyes like Thor's lit up her beautiful face and white, sparkling smile.

"Mother…" Loki and Thor whispered in awe.

"My sons…" Frigga answered. Her voice was soft like a summer breeze. "You've fought hard and brave! This fight is almost won! Stay strong, my precious sons!"

Another blast of pure Light Magic lit up the scene and forced Loki and Thor to cover their eyes. When they looked up again, their mother had disappeared. Both brothers stared at the same spot, completely stunned.

"Was that…" Arya's voice sounded.

"Queen Frigga…" Fandral finished sounding out of breath. The golden warrior crawled to his feet and whistled between his teeth. "What a woman!"

"She saved us…" Sif continued while getting on her feet as well.

"She must have stopped Merlin from the Other Side…" Arya said in amazement. "That's amazing!"

Loki and Thor were the last to get back on their feet.

"Mother…" Loki whispered while he looked at the spot Frigga had been only seconds ago. Slowly the young king made his way to the centre of the broken circle. On the ground he found the Valkyrie Stone. Only now it was no longer black as night. The stone had turned silver and when Loki picked it up, he could no longer feel the Dark Elf Magic in side it. The Stone had returned to its original state of Light Elf Magic.

"This is not the end!" an outraged voice sounded. Loki turned around and only just managed to pull up a shield to withhold the burst of Dark Magic coming from one of the sorcerers. Frigga's magic had thrown them back, but not eliminated.

With a simple wave of his hand, the stone disappeared and Loki threw another blast back. His mother had given him new strength to go on.

"Let's finish this!" Loki shouted. His friends, rushed behind him. "For Frigga!" As one they charged The Seven.

At first it seemed that they would win, especially when Volstagg and Hogun joined the fight as well, but before soon, Loki was reminded of their strong dark powers.

New illusions of bandits were formed and attacked the group violently. Before anyone noticed it, the seven Asgardians were split up. Loki could feel his powers fail once more. How long they were fighting, he didn't know, but it seemed like hours.

Suddenly the seventh sorcerer, the Dark Elf, appeared in front of the young king, grinning from ear to ear. Although Loki was wounded, dirty and tired, this sorcerer seemed as if he'd never seen battle at all.

"Young frost giant! I would suspect you to learn! You're losing! You never stood a chance!"

"Then I will go down fighting, you vermin!" the young king answered in despair while blasting a ball of fire towards his new opponent. Of course he knew they had to fall back, but that just wasn't an option right now!

The sorcerer easily blocked Loki's attack. With a simple wave of his hand Loki was thrown back. Yet, the young king refused to give in and quickly jumped back to his feet. Five illusions surrounded the sorcerer, but still he didn't seem impressed.

"You cannot fool me, Loki!" he snarled. The young king dropped his illusions and took out his daggers. With a loud scream he threw three dagger at once, but not one hit target.

"Stop this now! I give you one more chance! Join us, Loki! Let us make you stronger!"

Loki laughed. "You're desperate! You failed to bring your master back! Now you fall back on old plans! How pathetic! But I will never join you!"

"You're a fool, Odinson!" the sorcerer snarled. "Look around you! You're losing! Your friends are dying on your command! Join us and they will be spared!"

Loki ripped his eyes from is opponent and scanned his surroundings. Every single one of his friends was being bothered with one sorcerer. First he found Hogun, who was fighting of at least ten bandits at once while the sorcerer kept making new illusions. Right of him Sif and Fandral were suffering the same fate. All three of them were covered in their own blood. Loki could see the determination, but also fear and exhaustion in their eyes.

More to his left he spotted Volstagg who was trying to fight of an army of illusions of himself. Thor was fighting next to him, swinging Mjölnir around non-stop, but his hammer didn't have any effect on the illusions. And then there was Arya. Beautiful, strong and brave Arya. Loki sighed. He felt miserable. If only he could see her brilliant smile once more…

"You're losing!" the seventh sorcerer shouted. "You're a disgrace! You don't deserve the title of king! You're a disappointment to your family! To your mother! To your father! To your friends! You're a failure!"

But Loki wasn't listening anymore. His eyes were glued to the fighting silhouette of Arya. Like a black shadow she moved between her opponents, slicing through the illusions.

It was over…

They were going to die…

The battle was lost…

Loki closed his eyes.

* * *

**Do not kill me... I'll try uploading as soon as possible. Until then you have this beautiful cliffhanger (maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh).**

**I hope it was worth waiting for!**

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	48. Chapter 47

**It's a little bit shorter this one, but I'll still hope you'll ENJOY it!**

**:)**

* * *

_**Chapter 47 **_

Loki opened his eyes. He expected to see nothing.. or maybe something… anything at all… or nothing at all… Whatever the afterlife looked like.

Strangely enough he saw dirt. That wasn't particularly mind blowing, but what was quit unexpected was the fact that he could also see his own dirty, in blood covered clothes. Loki blinked confusedly. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Death, fire, sweat… If this was the afterlife it smelled quite the same as Storborg. The only thing he did enjoy was the fact that any kind of exhaustion had disappeared. In fact, Loki felt extraordinary strong and awake. He felt without a worry in the world. At least nothing he couldn't handle. The young king opened his eyes again and took another look at his feet. Nothing weird about those. So he looked a bit further.

That's when Loki agreed that he'd gone completely bonkers. Apparently the young king was sitting on the same spot he'd closed his eyes on, only now he was kneeling down on his right knee while his other foot patiently waited for further instructions. His left hand was keeping his balance on the ground while the other…

Loki blinked and looked again.

His right hand was closed around the handle of the Mighty Mjölnir.

The hammer peacefully rested on the ground, waiting to be lifted again, but Loki had no intentions of lifting it whatsoever. The young king stared in awe, not fully grasping the reality of what was and had happened.

-xxx-

(ABOUT THIRTY SECONDS EARLIER)

Arya cut and sliced. Her own sweat and blood was dripping in her eyes. Her heart was beating at its maximum, her muscles were screaming. It would only take seconds before she would receive the fatal blow.

The young Captain sliced through another illusion which instantly dissolved and revealed the sight of Loki standing a few steps further. Arya caught his eye and smiled softly. Her king closed his eyes and Arya felt any courage she had left vanish from her being.

Loki was giving up… Not that she blamed him. They were losing.

Arya screamed and cut one last time. She would just closed her eyes and wait. Death would come fast, she was certain of that. Maybe she would see her friends again.

But that never happened. A strong, warm breeze blew over the battlefield and made Arya almost loose balance. She looked back at her king and was surprised to see that the wind was blowing in his direction. What occurred next, happened so fast that Arya didn't know where to look first.

The young Captain instinctively searched eye contact with Thor, whom might have known what Loki was up to. The God of Thunder was staring at his brother as well when his trusty hammer suddenly was ripped from his grip and flew to the centre of the circle. Thor looked up, confused and speechless, following the Mighty Mjölnir with his eyes just like his friends.

Arya watched in amazement while the wind increased in speed. Her eyes locked on Loki who seemed to be in some kind of trance when he suddenly leaped forward, caught Mjölnir in mid-air and touched back down. With an loud roar the ground split open in every direction possible, immediately followed by a blast of pure white light.

Arya closed her eyes and lifted her arms protectively in front of her face, waiting for the blast to hit, but the energy went straight through her body. The sorcerers on the other hand were blown backwards, flew through the air for a couple of meters before hitting the ground rather painfully. Every single illusions dropped instantaneously. Arya opened her eyes and blinked away the colourful spots which were blocking her view. Her eyes searched for he friends who were all standing, slightly stunned, looking at the centre of the circle. Arya followed their gaze and watched while the dust slowly disappeared.

-xxx-

Loki swallowed. His lips were dry, as was his throat. In general he was rather thirsty. The dust around him cleared and the young king could feel his friends staring at him. He didn't hear any fighting… No screams, no weapons, not even that annoying, torturous sorcerer in his mind. In fact Loki was quite certain the link was broken. Again his eyes locked on the hammer in his hand. Carefully, the young king moved his muscles. All the pain had disappeared. Slowly, Loki lifted his head while he tried to get up again. Surprisingly Mjölnir didn't pull him down, but was easily lifted. The young king looked at his hand.

He. Was. Holding. Mjölnir. Why was he holding Mjölnir!

Loki slowly lifted the hammer and let it circle in his palm. It was extraordinary light and perfectly balanced. Loki could understand why Thor admired it so badly.

The young king looked up and scanned his surroundings. Only his friends were standing around him. Every single one, especially Thor, was staring at him in utter disbelief and surprise. Loki grinned at his brother and stretched his fingers. He was crackling with energy, only he'd never felt this kind of energy on his skin. In felt so pure. So light… It wasn't like his magic at all, but it was damn powerful.

Loki looked up from his hands. Whatever had happened, he had a job to finish first. His eyes found what he was looking for. A couple of meters in front of him lay the motionless body of the seventh sorcerer. Cautiously, he walked closer, feeling the energy rage through his body with every step he took.

Slowly, the young king kneeled at the Dark Elf's side. The seventh sorcerer seemed paralysed. His eyes were filled with absolute fear.

"You… you… how… you're a monster!" he spit out in a loud whisper. Loki smirked and held up the Mighty Mjölnir.

"Oh no, I am not… I just have the right toys!"

If possible, the Dark Elf grew even more anxious. "What will you do now?" he asked.

Loki scowled and put Mjölnir down. "I will give you what you deserve…" he said darkly before getting on his feet again. With one move of his hand, his golden sceptre appeared in his hands.

Loki cast a look on his friends who nodded and made their way to their respective sorcerers before drawing their weapons as well.

Loki licked his dry lips. "I hereby sentence you to death for your crimes against Asgard and the nine realms!"

The seventh sorcerer grew even paler. "My lord, I beg you! There is so much we can teach you!"

Loki lifted his sceptre with the blade facing down. "There is nothing I can learn from scum like you!" he hissed darkly before thrusting the sceptre down. The seventh sorcerer's scream drowned in the screams of his followers until a deep silence fell over the battlefield.

Loki lifted his sceptre, turned it around and put it back down. The Dark Elf at his feet stared up at the grey sky, seeing nothing but his own darkness. The young king turned his back and looked down at Mjölnir. He spread out his fingers. The hammer immediately flew back in his hand. Loki smiled.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. The young king looked up and found his friends standing around him in a big circle, every single face covered in surprise but also respect. Only Thor didn't seem able to decide which emotion fitted best with the situation. His bright blue eyes, almost popping out of his head, were locked on his trusty hammer in Loki's hand.

Loki grinned widely.

"Please, brother!" he called out. "Keep your toys with you!"

Loki playfully threw Mjölnir towards his stunned brother. Thor caught it without problem. The God of Thunder watched his hammer in amazement, then looked up at his brother and cast him a questioning look. Yet all Loki did was grin wider than ever before.

"I told you it didn't suit me, Thor!" he said. The God of Thunder smiled shortly, but couldn't hide his embarrassment. Loki turned to the others. Just at that moment the Bifröst hit the ground to their right. At least five dozen warriors appeared. Loki sighed…

_Timing… _he thought. Nevertheless, he turned back to his friends.

"Take The Seven and make sure they are buried in the foulest place you can think of!" Loki nodded to Hogun, knowing that he was agreeing with him on this one. The Vanaheimer nodded, bowed shortly and walked away.

"The rest of you, go to the villagers. Take the wounded first and bring them to Asgard. The others may come as well if they want to. Asgard will be their home until Storborg is rebuild. Take the death as well. They too will have a heroes funeral."

Sif and Volstagg nodded and left the group.

Loki turned to Fandral and gestured to the approaching Asgardian warriors.

"Tell those latecomers where they can help and send a couple of them to the other villages." Fandral smiled and nodded.

He turned around to leave, but hesitated. The golden warrior turned back and grinned widely.

"Loki," he said, "that what you just did… that was pretty amazing!"

Loki smiled back and watched Fandral walk away.

"Captain…" he continued. "You better go back to Asgard, you…"

Arya looked up and only just managed to catch her king when he unexpectedly fell backwards. Thor snapped from his trance and helped her hold up Loki's limp body.

"What the…" he said.

Arya smiled shortly. "I think it's better if we take him to the healers."

Thor nodded and lifted his brother's body in his arms.

"Never listens!" he muttered while making his way the spot where the Bifröst had hit. "Never listens!"

Arya laughed shortly.

"Maybe it's better if he doesn't…" she answered.

Thor shook his head. "He's going to get himself killed one of these days!"

"Now that would be ironical!" Arya answered just before the Bifröst took the three of them back to Asgard.

-xxx-

_What the…_

Tiredly Loki opened his eyes. Steadily, his view adjusted itself to his new surroundings.

_Gold… _was all his mind could come up with.

The young king took a deep breath. No stench…

He listened. Nothing.

Loki closed his eyes and tried to recall what had happened. He had been in Storborg, that was certain. He had …

With a start, Loki opened his eyes once more and lifted his right hand as if he expected Mjölnir to be there.

_Mjölnir…_

Confusedly the young king tried to get up since he'd discovered he was lying on his back. His view changed.

_Sheets…_

The young king licked his lips.

_Thirsty…_

Loki growled and closed his eyes once more. His head wasn't working as fast as he would like it to.

_Arya… _his thoughts drifted away and fixed on his Captain. He had been talking to Arya… And then…

Loki hit his forehead.

_Yes! What then! What happened next?_

He couldn't remember. Loki opened his eyes and scanned the room he was in.

_Familiar furniture, gold, familiar sheets, gold, clean, gold, balcony, … _

The young king waited for his mind to comprehend his observations.

_My chambers… yep, my chambers!_

Loki smiled. _Finally! _he thought.

But how did he get in his chambers? Loki decided took seek his answers elsewhere. Clumsily he pushed his blankets away and got up from his giant bed.

The young king moaned. His whole body was aching. More stiff than ever before, the young king made his way to the door.

With a huge yawn he left his chambers. Still a little bit drowsy, the young king made his way through the hallways towards the throne room, until someone suddenly bust into him at an incredible speed. Loki stumbled back and was ready to shout something at the moron who dared to run into him, when he recognized the golden locks of his niece.

The little girl almost tripped, but managed to stay on her feet. She looked up, holding her hand in front of her face.

"Ouch!" she peeped from behind her closed fingers.

"Frigga?" Loki said I surprised. Frigga lowered her hand. A brilliant smile appeared on her face.

"Loki!" she sheered before throwing her arms around her stunned uncle.

...

"Frigga! Sweetie, careful! You're going to run into some…"

Jane appeared around the corner, immediately followed by Thor.

"Loki…" Jane finished her sentence in surprise.

"You're awake!" Frigga shouted in amazement.

Loki looked down. "A… Awake?" he asked.

Thor, who had been rather silent, smiled and took a few steps forwards.

"Look who's back to the land of the living!" he joked while hitting his brother on the shoulder. Loki almost lost control over his legs.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, rubbing over his shoulder.

Jane and Thor shared a look. "You've been sleeping quite long, Loki!" Thor eventually explained.

Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. "I told you, Thor. It's called a coma!"

Loki's eyes grew big. "A coma?" he asked in surprise. He'd read about those in the past. "How long was I out?"

"About two months…" Thor answered. "Maybe we should…"

"Two months!" Loki shouted. "How's that possible?"

Jane sighed once more. "Loki! Thor and Arya brought you back from Vanaheim. You'd drained yourself: physically and mentally!"

Loki frowned. "What's that supposed to mean!" he shouted.

Thor smiled. "You did some epic stuff down there… You simply took yourself too far!"

Loki shook his head. "But.. I.. I felt…"

Jane smiled warmly and searched for eye contact. At times like this her mother-instincts took over.

"Loki!" she said kindly. "Don't worry about it. You saved everyone! And Asgard has been in good hands. Arya's doing amazing!"

"Definitely!" Thor added. "You almost blinded Heimdall in the process!"

A big grin grew on Loki's face. Thor grinned back and Jane sighed.

Frigga impatiently watched her parents. All she wanted was to hug Loki for the rest of the day. When her uncle had come back from Vanaheim, covered in blood and dirt, unconscious and - according to some of the healers - only moments away from death, she'd completely broken down. Although Loki's wounds had healed pretty fast, the young king remained asleep. That's when Jane came up with her coma-theory. Yet the healers refused to agree with her since a coma had never occurred with gods before. The closest they got was the Allfather's Odinsleep. Nevertheless, Loki was sleeping and whatever the reason was, all they could do was wait until the young king would wake again.

"Maybe we should take you the healers first… "Thor suggested.

Loki wanted to sigh, but was saved by his niece.

"No, no! Not to the healers!" she shouted. The little girl turned back to Loki and grabbed his hand. "You have to see Arya first! She really missed you!" she called out excitedly while pulling Loki towards the throne room.

The young king smiled and blinked confusedly.

"Frigga!" Jane shouted. "Not so fast! Give Loki the time to change first!"

The young king looked down. He was still wearing his sleeping clothes. Loki smiled thankfully and quickly changed his appearance. Frigga's eyes grew big, as every time she saw Loki preform magic.

"Can you teach me that! Can you teach me magic now?" she shouted. Loki wanted to answer when he caught the dark glares of Thor and Jane in the corner of his eye. He'd almost forgotten they knew about what he had done to Odin. The young king cursed under his breath. He'd really wanted to teach Frigga, but now that he couldn't use his "I don't use Dark Magic"-excuse anymore, things had changed. It would take time before he could gain their trust again.

Loki smiled shortly. Why not start gaining trust now…

The young king kneeled down and lifted his hand in front of Frigga's glowing face. He closed his fingers and smiled mysteriously.

"Lesson number one: try to catch the magic butterfly!" Loki blew over his hand (not that it was necessary, it just gave a nice touch) and opened his fingers again. In the palm of his hand sat a sparkling, almost transparent green butterfly. It unfolded its enormous wings and flew off. Frigga's eyes grew big while she enthusiastically ran after the butterfly, eagerly jumping to catch it.

Loki smiled and got back to his feet. "Some epic stuff, you said?" he asked nonchalantly. Thor ripped his eyes form his jumping daughter and turned back to Loki. The young king grinned from ear to ear.

"Yes…" Thor answered shortly.

Loki smiled. "Mjölnir, was it? Right?"

Thor's eyes turned dark while embarrassment coloured his cheeks.

"I think your memory is incorrect!"

Loki shook his head. "Nah… I'm pretty sure I took Mjölnir from you. Must have been a relieve!"

Thor sighed. "I lend it to you…"

"Admit it, Thor! I was worthy!" Loki answered with a smile.

"No, you weren't!"

"Yes I was! I was worthy!"

"Absolutely not!"

Jane smiled and sighed while the three of them slowly made their way towards the throne room. This was going to stick…

-xxx-

"… Thank you, Lord Gunnar. Make sure the Vanaheimers have everything they need. Asgard will…"

Silence fell when the doors of the throne room opened. Arya looked up from her spot next to the throne. A big smile of relieve appeared on her face when she recognized her king walking inside.

"My king!" she said in relieve. Everyone in the room kneeled or bowed.

Loki smiled and searched for eye contact with his Captain.

"You've done well, Arya. For that I am thankful!"

Arya smiled back and bowed before descending the stairs.

"It was my pleasure." she answered when she reached Loki.

The young king nodded and walked up the stairs to his throne. He sat down and looked around.

"I know you're probably all very happy to see me again! But let's skip the kisses and the flowers and get to business." he announced.

Arya smiled and sighed in relieve. How happy she was to be back were she belonged. Luckily for her, Asgard had not had any threads during Loki's absence. Nevertheless she was happy to call herself Captain again.

Lord Gunnar cleared his throat. "We were just discussing the progress of the rebuilding of Storborg. The other villages have been build up again. Storborg has some delays because of a certain type of stone which the Dwarfs are unwillingly to deliver."

Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes. He suddenly had the great desire to go the healers after all.

"Then offer them a deal. You know how much the Dwarfs like to show off their craftsmanship. Offer them fame and they give you the stone in return."

Lord Gunnar smiled shortly. "Yes of course, sire. However, this particular stone is quite valuable. What could possibly offer them enough fame to hand it over?"

Loki thought about that. The Dwarfs had always been hard negotiators. They didn't desire gold or precious stones since they dug those up at a daily base. Yet they desired fame. Asgard had ordered many valuable items in the past such as weapons and armour. Odin's, Loki's, Sif's and Loki's armour had all come from the mines of the Dwarfs, just like Odin's sceptre. Those gifts had been for the highest families of Asgard. Gaining more fame was as good as impossible and now asking for a replacement would be an insult of their craftsmanship.

Loki looked around the room. His eyes locked on Arya for a moment. He could always ask for a bow. Without question, it would be the best of weapons, yet Arya was only the Captain.

His eyes searched further until he found little Frigga sitting in the corner of the room, next to her mother. To Loki's surprise the girl had actually succeeded in catching the butterfly and she was now showing it to her mother in the palm of her hand. Loki smiled. He had the most perfect idea.

"Ask them to make an armour!" he announced. The room fell quiet.

Lord Gunnar seemed to hesitate. "For whom, sire?" he asked.

Loki's eyes sparkled.

"For princess Frigga! It's about time she had her own armour. Nothing big and not necessarily ready for battle, but something worth her title of Princess of Asgard. Something that suits her perfectly and that grows with her!"

All eyes turned on Frigga, who had looked up when she'd heard her name. Her eyes, first filled with surprise, shone with excitement. Jane obviously wanted to object, but her daughter's cheerful face made her shut up.

"After all…" Loki continued with a smile. "If I remember correctly, it's almost her birthday…"

If possible, Frigga grew even more excited. She couldn't believe Loki had remembered that. The young king smiled. Once again, he'd gotten one more step closer.

Lord Gunnar ripped his eyes from the excited child. "I believe that will do! Yet, I am quite sure they'll want some sort of proof of her existence… The Dwarfs are rather incredulous."

Loki smiled. "Then I suppose family Foster has a little sightseeing holiday planned."

Frigga was jumping up and down by now. "Mommy, Mommy, were going to the Dwarfs! I'm going to see real dwarfs!"

Jane nodded vaguely. She wasn't really following anymore. She threw a questioning look on her husband, but Thor seemed rather pleased with himself.

Lord Gunnar nodded and wrote something down on the piece of parchment in his hands.

"That's all I had to report, sire!" he declared. Loki nodded.

"One more thing!" the young king said just before everyone wanted to leave. "On the sixth of September, one week from now, there will be a banquet in honour of Princess Frigga's fifth birthday!"

"Sixth!" Frigga interrupted while holding up six fingers, obviously proud now that her second thumb could join.

Loki faked his surprise, making Thor roll his eyes, and smiled.

"My apologies, Frigga, of course! Sixth Birthday! Your practically a lady!"

The little princess smiled widely and blushed.

Loki grinned and got up from his throne. Everyone in the room bowed and left. When the last person had left through the doors and Loki had made it down the stairs, Frigga ripped herself from her mother's grip and rushed towards her uncle who was already waiting with open arms.

"Thank you, Loki!" Frigga peeped through her tears of happiness. Loki lifted the girl in his arms and hugged her back.

"Will there be many people?" Frigga asked while Loki walked out the throne room with Thor and Jane in his wake.

"Of course!" Loki answered to his enthusiastic niece. "As many as you'll like. Whoever you want!"

Frigga bit her lip in excitement. "Can Arya come?" she asked.

Loki smiled and nodded. "Of course, she wouldn't want to miss it for the world!"

"And you…" the little girl asked. For a second all excitement faded from her face. Loki had been quite busy, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if he wouldn't make it.

Loki grinned mysteriously. "I'll have to, I'm afraid. Otherwise Thor would eat all the cake!"

Frigga laughed through her tears and hugged her uncle tightly. She was more than ready for her first birthday surrounded by her friends!

* * *

**So there you go! I hope you liked it!**

**Just for the record: in a couple of days I'm going on a short holiday... So I wont be writing then. I'll see if I can write something before I leave ;)**

**Please let me know what you think!**

**Rumple x **


	49. Chapter 48

**Hi! How you're all doing! Here you go! ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 48**_

Frigga's banquet was planned for the evening. So naturally the whole of Asgard's court had been partying since the morning of the sixth of September. Especially Fandral and Volstagg didn't let this opportunity to go loose slip through their fingers. By the start of the banquet, both warriors were already as good as wasted which only got the party started that much faster.

Loki stood in a corner, holding onto his second goblet of wine. The young king smiled as he watched the cheerful sight at the main table where Frigga had started to receive her first presents. To the delight of Volstagg, all the leftovers were cast aside, to make place for the sudden avalanche of gifts.

To Frigga's surprise, lots of other Asgardian kids had decided to show up on her birthday, every single one of them carrying a present for their new princes. Being bullied and ignored all her life, Frigga didn't know how to connect with other kids of her age. To be honest, she'd found that her closest friends were mostly grown-ups. Luckily for the little girl, the Asgardians were more than social and inquisitive. Within the hour, the young girl was surrounded by a new set of friends.

Loki had never seen his niece happier. While excepting one funny gift after the other, she told her new friends about her life on earth. The Asgardian kids hang on her every word and in return told the young princess about their Asgardian childhood. Frigga proudly told the kids about her father's heroic deed alongside the other Avengers. She told them about sweet Banner and cocky Stark. She spoke off Malekith and Thanos. She told them about SHIELD and how she never quiet understood on what side they were. She explained the Tesseract incident and told them how she'd discovered her true powers, of course with the help of her favourite uncle. She told them about how she loved princesses and how she adored books. She told them about the library and about how the people of Earth pretended to know everything about Asgard and their inhabitants. To Frigga's delight, the kids frowned and protested.

The night grew old, but no one felt like sleeping. Frigga was running around the table, playing tag with her new friends. Loki smiled while taking a new goblet of wine from the tray of one of the servants. It had been a while since he's last had a proper party on which he had the liberty of drinking as much as he desired. As a result, the young king was starting to feel slightly tipsy. Nevertheless, one look on his friends clearly showed that he was some goblets behind. Fandral and Volstagg were dancing on the table by now, entertaining the kids, while Hogun watched the duo, shaking his head in disbelief. Jane and Thor set at a table in the corner, laughing and talking loudly. Sif and Arya were sharing a drink and told the most expressive of tales to everyone who wanted to listen.

Loki smiled. Soon it would be his turn to give his present to Frigga. It was an old Asgardian habit to first receive the gifts from the families of "lower" stand.

As if he could read his brother's mind, Thor suddenly looked up from his conversation with his wife. The God of Thunder searched for his brother. Loki stared back and nodded. Thor smiled, turned to Jane, said something and got up from his chair. Jane followed. At the door, Thor softly kissed his wife, smiled sheepishly and left the room. Jane slowly walked towards the long table.

Loki put down his goblet and made his way to the table as well. Arya, Sif, Fandral and Volstagg had joined them by then. Jane called her daughter and the room went quiet. The little girl climbed on the table and watched the people around her with and excited look in her eyes.

Thor walked back inside the room, smiling mysteriously.

"Frigga!" he called out while joining at the table. "You're about to get your final presents for today. Are you ready?"

Frigga nodded excitedly.

The first who stepped forward were Fandral and Arya. The threw each other a drunk grin, although Fandral was clearly the worst. The Golden warrior turned to Frigga and smiled sheepishly.

"Although I am certain that everyone here has a marvellous gift for our little princess, my gift will simply be the best!"

Arya shook her head and laughed. "_Our _gift!" she corrected while taking a box from a servant who'd just entered. She smiled at Frigga and put the box on the table.

"Happy Birthday, Frigga!" she said.

"What she said!" Fandral shouted way to loud. Arya giggled and took a closer look at the box in front of her, until it suddenly moved. The little girl took a step back and threw a questioning look on Arya, but the Captain only smiled.

"It's the head of a dwarf!" Fandral whispered. "But it's still alive!"

Arya playfully hit the golden warrior on the head. "Don't listen to him! Open the box, Frigga. Don't be scared."

The little girl bit her lip and took a step closer. Again the lit moved. Slowly Frigga reached for the box and opened it. A soft hairy thing popped out of it.

Frigga's mouth dropped open. There, in the box, with its tongue dangling out of its mouth, set a cute completely white puppy.

The little girl cheered and picked the puppy up. Immediately the little thing started licking the young girl's face.

"It's a dog, Mommy! It's a dog!"

The kids around the table clapped their hands while Frigga cuddled the puppy.

Arya took the box of the table.

"Well, technically, it's a wolf's cub. It's a very rare breed. Completely white, blue eyes, extraordinary senses, incredibly fast and strong. In the wild, their dangerous, but if they are trained correctly, they'll make the best of companions."

Fandral nodded. "We found it on a field trip to the northern borders of Vanaheim, in the Ironwoods. It's mother had been killed, probably by another animal or a bandit."

Frigga bit her lip and looked at the cub in her arms.

"Poor wolfy… I'll take care of you!" she said while staring in the blue eyes of the cub. "I think I'll call your princess!"

Fandral and Arya shared a look.

"Actually…" Fandral started. "It's a boy…"

Frigga frowned. "Prince then…" she said after a short silence. Arya and Fandral smiled.

"Look at that!" the golden warrior exclaimed while hitting Thor clumsily on the shoulder. "You're getting competition!"

Fandral gestured at the silver wolf cub in Frigga's arms. "Prince of Asgard!"

Thor shook his head and pouched his drunk friend away.

"Frigga," he said. "We expect you take good care of Prince. This is no ordinary dog! Prince will be stronger and live longer than a normal Midgardian dog! He will have to be trained!"

Frigga rolled her eyes.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed. "I'm not stupid!"

With a smile, Arya handed Frigga another present. It was a bright blue collar with a blank, silver name tag. Carefully she put it around Prince's neck.

"There!" she said. "All yours Frigga!" the little girl was completely taken aback. She stared at her wolf in awe and knew that she'd just made a new friend. She put Prince back on the table and the small cud curled itself around her ankle.

"Thank you…" Frigga stuttered while tears of happiness coloured her bright blue eyes. Both Fandral and Arya gave her a big hug.

The next in line was Hogun. He stepped forwards and cast Frigga one of his rare smiles. He held up a small, brown packet. Excitedly, the little girl accepted it. With trembling hands she ripped open the brown paper.

The little girl's eyes grew big when she found a silver crown inside. Thin silver strings curled through each other like the branches of a young tree. Miniature leaves, each one holding a tiny diamond caught the light and threw dancing sparkles on the table.

Jane gasped.

"Oh, Hogun!" she whispered in awe. Frigga looked up from her present and smiled widely at the Vanaheimer in front of her. Hogun smiled and took the crown. Arya bowed down and let him gently put it on her golden locks. It fitted perfectly.

"A good friend of mine, who lives in Storborg, made it. The crown itself comes from the mines of the dwarfs, yet the design is Elfish, just like the diamonds. A princess of Asgard should wear a crown of the worlds."

Frigga looked at her reflection in a silver plate on the table. She was speechless, as was everyone else. Prince looked at the reflection as well and barked softly after which he licked Frigga's reflection in the plate.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the little girl squeaked while throwing her arms around the Vanaheimer. Hogun froze, but quickly relaxed.

Frigga pulled back and rubbed her eyes dry.

"Mommy, Mommy! Look!" she shouted while jumping up and down. "It's so beautiful! I look like a real princess!"

Jane could only nod. Somewhere she was starting to panic. Was this the usual "quality" of birthday presents on Asgard?

The next one up was Volstagg. The warrior stepped forward. His head had turned bright red, but Frigga wasn't sure that was out of shame or just because he'd drunk too much.

Volstagg smiled shortly.

"I'm a little embarrassed to give you this now…" he started. He was fidgeting his hands around something. "I mean… it's not a lifelong friend and it's not that valuable…"

Frigga giggled. "I'm sure it's wonderful!" she said with a smile while her eyes sparkled.

Volstagg smiled back. After some more hesitation he opened his hands and held up a scruffy rope with a sharp looking tooth hanging in the middle. The warrior bit his lip.

"It's the tooth of a bilgesnipe. It's rather rare to find one as beautiful as this one… most of the time they already blunted their teeth on the stones they chew… I fought it myself… I thought you would like a necklace… So I made you one."

Frigga stared at the blinking tooth. Her mouth opened in amazement.

"Cool!" she whispered. Volstagg frowned.

"Cold?" he asked confusedly.

Loki sniggered and shook his head. "Midgardian slang, my dear Volstagg… don't pay attention to it. Let's say she likes your gift!"

Volstagg smiled widely.

"May I?" he asked kindly. Frigga nodded, turned around and pulled her long hair aside so Volstagg could tie the necklace around her neck. Frigga looked down at the tooth and glowed with pride. She'd never felt stronger. The kids around the table stared at her, completely speechless and slightly jealous.

"Thank you, Volstagg!" Frigga said with a big smile. She bowed forward and placed a wet kiss on Volstagg's red cheek which instantly turned purple.

Her next present was the one from her parents. Jane hugged her daughter and smiled mysteriously.

"Look, sweetheart. Since I really didn't know what to get you of Asgard and travelling to Earth was rather difficult, I haven't bought you anything this year. Yet…" she said with a smile. "Your father and Lady Sif have managed to persuade me into giving you something quite special. I'm not saying I agree with them, and you'll only be thought by someone I trust and know. But, Frigga… Happy birthday!" Jane kissed her daughter on her forehead and stepped aside so the little girl could see the door.

The groom came walking in with in his wake a beautiful white horse with long blond manes. Frigga was once again speechless. Her father took the rope of the horse and led it closer to the table.

"Her name is Lyn. It means _lighting_." The God of Thunder explained. "She is named after her incredible speed. She is light and swift as the wind and will always carry you to where you need to go."

Frigga nodded vaguely. Thor smiled. "She's been destined to be yours, Frigga. She comes from the same family as my horse, Loki's horse, Odin's horse and our ancestors before him. I got the thunder, you get the lighting…"

Frigga didn't say anything. Her eyes drifted form the horse to her mother, who only tried to smile an encouraging smile, back to her horse, Lyn. She suddenly felt really small, even though Lyn was still a young horse herself.

Lyn turned her head. One sparkling dark eye crossed with Frigga's stares. A sudden weird feeling took hold of the young princess. For some reason she knew her father was not selling nonsense. Lyn had always belonged to her and her alone. It just fitted. Frigga had the feeling she'd known this horse her whole life and she immediately felt safe. She would look after Lyn and Lyn would take care of her.

Almost in trance, the little girl jumped of the table and slowly made her way to Lyn, who almost seemed as curious as her future rider. Frigga looked up. Although Lyn was a young horse, she still towered over the little girl, but Frigga didn't feel any fear. She stretched out her arm and Lyn bowed her head to let Frigga gently pet her nose. Lyn snorted and softly pushed against Frigga's palm.

Thor smiled, as did his brother. The royal family had always been served by a rare breed of horse. They were believed to be created together with the first Asgardians. Their line had followed the kings and queens until this day. Both brothers remembered all too well when they first lay eyes on their trusty stallions. It was a feeling neither would ever forget. Yet, now Loki thought about it… It was rather curious that he, being a frost giant and not at all related to the royal family, also received a horse from the line. The young king smiled. There were forces in the universe that even he would never understand.

The room remained quiet until Frigga suddenly snapped from her trance. She looked up at her father, her face glowing with excitement. She turned to her mother.

"Does this mean I'll get to ride a horse!" she shouted. "Sif's gonna teach me?"

Jane's worried expression didn't fade, but a small smile managed to break through at last. Frigga started jumping up and down and hugged her father tightly. Lyn seemed to share her excitement and happily neighed. Prince the wolf barked enthusiastically before continuing his task of biting as much meat as possible of the leftovers.

"Thank you daddy!" Frigga shouted before rushing off to her mother to hug her tightly. "Thank you mommy!"

Jane caught her daughter and hugged her back. "I'm glad you like it, sweetie…" she managed to say. Frigga was too excited to notice the worried look Jane threw to her husband. Thor smiled shortly and handed the rope back to the groom who took Lyn back to the stables.

"Now, let me give you the best present of tonight!" Sif suddenly interrupted. The female warrior got up from the table and walked to a corner where she picked something up. Afterwards she walked back to the table and handed Frigga a small, silver shield.

"I can teach you to ride a horse and fight in battle. But, before you can learn how to fight, you'll have to be able to protect yourself!" she said.

Frigga shove the shield over her arm and waved it around.

"Awesome!" she exclaimed. She rushed to the lady warrior and shortly hugged her. Sif smiled mysteriously. "Off course, your sword is safely hidden until we'll need it…" she added in a whisper so only Frigga could hear it.

Frigga bit her lip excitedly. Sif put a finger on her lips while winking. The young girl nodded.

Frigga untied the shield and put it on the table. Then she turned to Loki, a questioning look colouring her eyes. The young king could see she was already trying not to look disappointed when he would tell her he didn't get her anything. But Loki smiled moved his hands around each other until a big book suddenly appeared. It looked ancient. The thick parchment pages had turned yellow and soft. The leather binding was almost falling apart. A leather strap bound the book and the many extra pages put in between, together.

Loki kneeled down and handed the book to his niece. It had nothing written on the dusty cover. Frigga looked at the book, impelled and curious. Loki started untying the leather strap.

"This is not just any old book, Frigga. It once belonged to my mother. Before that it belonged to her master, The Great Merlin himself. Everything he knew is in there, everything my mother ever taught me is in there… the book has grown over the years. It has been edited by hand. I, myself, put in many extras. Spells I found in old runes, the spell of The Beginning is in there as well. If you want to learn magic, there is no better place to start…"

Frigga didn't know what to say. Loki looked up and met two pair of suspicious eyes. Jane and Thor were thinking the same thing. If all Loki's and Merlin's knowledge was in that book, then that also counted for the Dark Magic…

Loki smirked. "And just to put you at ease… " he said more to the parents than to Frigga. "This book only exist of Light Magic. Merlin put a special spell on it … before he _turned_. No Dark Magic will ever find its way in those pages… Not his, not mine…"

Thor and Jane shared a look. They didn't know if Loki was telling the truth, but it would have to do for now.

"Thank you Loki…" a silent voice sounded. Loki looked down and met the bright, watery eyes of his niece. She held the book close to her body as if she was scared if would disappear. Loki smiled back and threw one last look on the book. He had to say… it had hurt when he'd decided to hand it to Frigga. This book had been the last physical memory of his mother, but the young king knew his mother had wanted it this way. Her knowledge, her legacy had to be passed on.

"I'll teach you everything you want to know, Frigga. Trust me: if you are as strong and gifted as you've already proven to be, then you won't need that shield or a sword or a wolf at your side to protect yourself!"

Loki smiled, winked, whispered "Happy Birthday" and got back to his feet.

The rest of the evening Frigga showed all her presents to her new friends. Especially Prince seemed very popular. The adults kept drinking. At one point Fandral fell with his face down on the table while he was trying to woo a couple of girls, to the delight of the kids and the other warriors.

Loki smiled from his spot in the corner. He'd always enjoyed watching his friends instead of partying at their side. Who else would come with the embarrassing stories the day afterwards…

"Typical right…" a voice sounded next to him. Loki looked down and found, to his surprise, Arya standing next to him. The young Captain was obviously drunk. Clumsily she pointed to a spot next to Fandral. "He is way too drunk!" she said.

Loki sniggered. "Aren't we all…" he answered.

Arya laughed a little too loud.

"Perhaps…" she eventually admitted while taking another gulp from her goblet. It stayed silent for a couple of seconds and Loki found himself speechless for the first time ever. The young king looked at his full goblet and shook his head. He'd had too much…

"That was a very nice gift…" Arya suddenly started. "The book I mean… very nice…"

"Yeah…" Loki answered, wondering what had happened to his normally fluent tongue. "So was the dog…" he quickly added. "I mean, the wolf… Prince…"

"Yeah… he's very cute…"

Loki nodded vaguely. "So… you found him together with Fandral?" he asked after another short, awkward silence.

Arya nodded. "Yes.." she said while taking another gulp. "In the Ironwoods… I remember it was freezing… although I didn't have much time to think about that with Fandral's constant jokes."

Loki's eyes turned dark for a second. "He's not that funny…" he answered shortly. After all… he was the God of Mischief. He made the jokes.

"Oh… he can be… in his own way I guess…" Arya answered vaguely. "Anyway, it's a good thing we found Prince. Fandral was asking me what to get for Frigga. He was planning to give her a goblet of Asgard's best wine…"

Arya laughed and shook her head.

"That's absurd…" Loki said harshly.

"He really needs woman around him!" Arya added with smile while waving around her goblet.

Loki's jaw tightened. He didn't really like the subject, but for some reason he just had to answer.

"Someone like you, you mean?"

Arya, who just took another gulp of wine, almost choked.

"Me?" she asked in surprise with a cough.

Loki raised his shoulder. He took his cup back and drank from his wine.

"Well, it's obvious he likes you…" he said dryly. Arya laughed.

"I pity the woman who ends up with him…" she said with a smile. "Fandral's fun alright, but only as a friend! Not me, thank you… By the way… he's not my type."

Loki smiled shortly. "Oh really… what is your type?" he asked immediately wondering why he'd asked that, but Arya was too drunk to notice.

"I don't know… someone who doesn't need that much attention, I guess…" Arya answered while a slight blush coloured her cheeks.

"I agree…" Loki quickly answered. "Women deserve that attention…"

Arya turned bright red and Loki mentally praised himself. He'd always been one for flattery, but it never seemed to work with girls because his brother was around.

"What off you?" Arya suddenly asked after taken an encouraging gulp of wine. She'd finished her cup…

Loki blinked in surprise. "What off me?"

"Don't you fancy someone?" Arya asked rather darkly. Loki swallowed and wanted to drink from his cup, before noticing it had been emptied as well…

_When did that happen?_ the young king thought, but his tipsy mind didn't spend too much time on it. From a passing tray he picked two full goblets and handed one to his thirsty Captain. They hit their goblets together and drank.

"So… Anyone?" Arya asked again. Loki had hoped she would drop the subject.

"No… Not exactly!" Loki answered after a short silence. "Women don't really _fancy _me… I guess it has something to do with Thor…"

Arya sniggered. "Gibberish!" she answered before she could stop herself.

Loki frowned in surprise and watched his Captain turn bright red once more.

"I mean… Girls do fancy you…"

"They do?"

Arya pulled up her shoulders and felt herself and her drunk mind falling deeper and deeper.

"Well… you don't look… bad…."

"Not bad?" Loki asked, wondering why he even cared.

"You're cute enough…" Arya quickly added, immediately regretting every word she'd said so far.

Loki raised his eyebrows, while Arya struggled to find the next, least embarrassing way to get herself out of this.

"Well.. cute as in, all right… looking… good looking… Not bad…"

Loki was really starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Like dark…" Arya stuttered on, cursing herself while she did. Why couldn't her drunk mind just shut up! "You have something dark… something that Thor doesn't have…. That's cute… nice, I mean… Good dark, of course… It's interesting…"

Arya suddenly had the great desire to start hitting her head against the wall.

"_Good_ dark?" Loki slowly repeated. "Dark is good?"

"No, dark is bad!" Arya immediately answered. "But not with you… you have nice darkness…"

"Right…"

"Right…"

"Nice darkness…"

"Yeah…" Arya stuttered. "No… Yes… Sort off… yes…"

Loki nodded and cleared his throat while he felt the blood raise to his cheeks. It had been a while since he'd last felt this embarrassed. Most of the time, he was the one embarrassing others.

Arya turned away. "I'm sorry, my lord. I guess I had a little too much…" she said hoarsely.

Loki nodded vaguely. A weird thought had just crossed his mind. And although every fibre in his body warned him to ignore it, the young king couldn't resist to ask. He just needed to know.

"What's bad darkness then?" he said.

Arya looked up and swallowed. Why was he asking this of her? Loki knew she'd just embarrassed herself! Why was he dragging her even further down?

"Eer… bad darkness?" she stuttered. "Eer… like those sorcerers… or the Dark Elves… they do bad things!"

Loki smirked and wondered why he was being this mean. To Thor it wouldn't be such a surprise, but to Arya?

"I sucked the soul out of my father's body…" he bit back.

Arya felt her mouth go dry… "Well…" she started awkwardly. "I… I … I don't like my father that much either…"

The young Captain had never felt more stupid. What kind of comparison was that? Loki didn't seem satisfied, so Arya quickly tried to change the subject.

"My point is that you are not all bad… The Dark Elves are, just like those sorcerers… Or... or take the Frost Giants for instance. I don't see how they could ever do good…"

For some reason Loki froze. His eyes turned dark. The young Captain stared back in confusion. What had she said wrong?

Loki's jaw clenched. "Right.." he said dryly while he felt his heart shrink to its minimum when he was reminded of his true parentage and the fact that only Thor knew the truth. Loki put down his half full goblet and smiled shortly, yet his normal charisma was missing.

"Trust me, Arya. There is no such thing as _nice _darkness…" he said darkly. His light grey eyes pierced into Arya's emerald once. For a moment, the young Captain lost sight of her surroundings, the party and the location of her legs. Luckily Loki suddenly broke eye contact and walked off. Arya blinked confusedly. What did she say wrong?

Loki marched out the room. The light feeling in his head had turned into a sickening feeling his stomach. Loki kept walking and suddenly found himself on one of the highest balconies of the palace. Automatically he walked into the cold night air and climbed on the balustrade. Without trouble, the young king climbed further up the roof until he reached his familiar, flat spot. Loki sank down and let his feet dangle of the edge of the roof. No one but his mother and brother knew of this secret hide out. Loki had spent so much time up here in the past that he'd lost count. Yet the last time, his mother had joined him… now he was alone.

Feeling frustrated, the young king looked down at his hands, remembering the cold blue colour creeping over his skin when that Frost Giant had touched him.

The young king sniggered.

_Nice darkness… Don't make me laugh…_

Loki let his head rest in his hands and looked up at the stars which suddenly looked a lot colder than they'd done in the past.

* * *

**What did you think? I have to warn you: while editing I found a remarkable amount of mistakes... I was a bit tired when I wrote this chapter. So sorry if I mist some... **

**Anyway! Thank you for reading!**

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**

**PS: I'm going on a summer camp tomorrow (1 week). I wont be able to write there... so sorry! **


	50. Chapter 49

**I'm sorry guys, I've been pretty busy over the last few weeks. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long :D**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 49**_

One week after Frigga's birthday, Heimdall informed the court that the Dwarfs had finished Frigga's armour and insisted on bringing it to Asgard themselves. As a result, Loki ordered another banquet in honour of their guests from Nidvellir, the realm of the Dwarfs.

The young king understood that the Dwarfs were only seeking more publicity, so he invited inhabitants from across the befriended realms, using the official announcement of the new princess of Asgard as an excuse.

And so it came to be that little Frigga, standing next to Loki's throne, more excited than ever before, watched the guests enter the room. From Vanaheim came the Drottinn family, being one of the richest of the realm. Frigga had to admit they seemed rather cocky. From Alfheim came the Light Elves. There were five of them. It was the first time Frigga'd ever laid eye on an Elf and she was speechless. The Elves were exceptionally tall. Taller than Loki, taller than her father… Besides that, they almost seemed to float in their long silver robes and spread a soft white glow everywhere they went. Their eyes were as light as their long blond hair. Their faces showed little emotion, but were perfect in every way. It was almost as if Frigga was staring at a bunch of beautiful statues.

The Light Elves strode through the room until they reached the throne where Loki awaited them with a kind smile playing on his lips.

"Lord Melrakki, I welcome you and your fellowship to Asgard. Please honour us by staying with us a few days. Asgard will be your home."

The tallest Elf smiled softly. Lord Melrakki was as perfect as his fellow Elves, yet he seemed older. Especially his big white eyebrows attracted Frigga's attention. His light eyes pierced into Loki's. When he spoke, Frigga thought she heard the wind speak.

"My king… Loki, Son of Odin and known Trickster…" Melrakki said softly. "Your reputation has not faded throughout the years, nor have you left any doubt about your… abilities."

Loki forced a smile on his face. The Elves were mysterious creatures. Some were believed to be able to read minds. They knew ones deepest secrets and could not be fooled. Odin had never fully trusted the Light Elves, just because they seemed to know more than the Allfather was prepared to share. Loki had always believed the Elves were capable of reading signs that were invisible even to him.

Therefore, the young king understood the full meaning of what the Elf meant by "his abilities" and Melrakki knew he didn't have to explain any further.

For a second the corners of Melrakki's thin lips twitched up, but his carved out face quickly returned.

"Word has come to my people that you have succeeded in returning our precious _Valkyrja_ _Stone _to its original state. I am most curious about how exactly you managed to vanquish the Dark Elf Magic."

Loki smiled. He knew where this was going. "I am certain we will have enough time to discuss these matters over a fine meal, my good lord Melrakki."

The Light Elf nodded almost invisibly.

Loki looked down for a second, silently happy that he could avoid those cold stares for a second.

"May I introduce, Princess Frigga, daughter of Prince Thor Odinson, Asgardian, and Jane Foster, Midgardian," he said with a smile while gesturing to the nervous girl next to him.

The Elf looked down, his companions silently followed his stare.

Frigga timidly shuffled with her feet now that those creepy silver eyes were fixed on her. Lord Melrakki observed her for a second before an almost invisible smile cut through his perfect face. The Light Elf bowed his head.

"It is truly an honour to meet you in my lifetime, Your Majesty," he said.

Frigga frowned. Partly because the Elf had called her "Your Majesty", which sounded extremely old, but also because she had the feeling this Elf already knew her.

"You… you knew I was… errr… coming?" she asked rather abruptly. The Elves behind Melrakki seemed shocked, for as far as their stone faces allowed any emotion. Frigga felt her throat run dry.

"Sir…" she quickly added. The Light Elf didn't show any sign of anger.

"We Light Elves know things that are, things that have been, things that could have been, things that will be and things could be… Your existence has been foretold, just as your father's and his father before him."

Frigga stared at the Elf in awe, not fully understanding what he was saying. She didn't notice Loki roll his eyes next to her.

Melrakki gave Frigga some time to process before continuing. A slight frown appeared on his perfect forehead. "Nevertheless… the universe holds many secrets, even to those who claim to know them…"

Frigga felt a bit uneasy. The Elf was not making any sense to her. Melrakki's silver eyes never left her face and wherever she tried to look, his stare stayed put.

It stayed silent for a second and Melrakki seemed to be lost in thought.

"A great power dwells over you, child," he suddenly continued, even more silent than before. "Only time will show its potential and purpose."

Frigga swallowed. Melrakki was starting to scare her.

"Thank… thank you.. sir…" she stuttered. Without realising she grabbed hold of Loki's trousers next to her, if only to feel some comfort under the Elf's cold stare.

Melrakki's eyes finally left Frigga's face and fixed on something above her. In a flash he raised his hand and softly touched Frigga's silver crown which she was wearing. The gift from Hogun.

The Light Elf's long fingers caressed the sparkling diamonds in the silver vines. Again his mouth twitched in a dreamy smile.

"Stars of Morginn" he whispered. Afterwards he turned his silver gaze back on the little girl.

"You are a child of Light, Frigga Foster. A Diamond Star…" he said as if Frigga was supposed to understand his riddles.

Without another word, Lord Melrakki turned on his heels and soundlessly walked away. His quiet fellow Elves bowed their heads and followed, leaving Frigga stunned and slightly terrified.

Only when Loki had kneeled down and had put his hands on her shoulders, did Frigga notice that she was shivering all over her body. Loki smiled warmly.

"Don't you worry, Frigga. They like to show off. Lord Melrakki in particular. Luckily for us, they prefer their boring perfect home world and leave us alone most of the time."

Frigga finally stopped shivering. "What did he mean by 'a great power' and that _time thing…_ And what is a child of light?" she asked. For a second Loki's eyes turned dark, but it happened so quickly that Frigga blamed her imagination. The young king smiled softly and raised his shoulders.

"If we only knew… Like I said, all a show. They think themselves so smart, but if you ask me they don't even understand what they're saying half of the time."

Frigga smiled back. One thing was certain: she didn't like that Lord Melrakki!

Suddenly Thor and Jane appeared. Thor was carrying a fresh goblet of wine and smiled at his brother before petting his daughter on the head.

"What did we miss?" he asked innocently. Loki rolled with his eyes and sighed.

"As if you still need to ask. Of course the great God of Thunder _accidentally_ disappears when the Light Elves enter the room!"

Thor grinned widely. "What can I say? My throat was in desperate need of some refreshment!" he declared while raising his cup. "And besides: it is better if Frigga meets Lord Melrakki without my bad influence."

Loki smirked. "Mother warned you… Elves don't easily forget. If only you had shown the same respect as I did…"

Thor growled. "Yes, thanks for that reminder, brother. Excuse me if I can't be bothered with some stargazing creeps…"

Loki only grinned and Thor turned pale. Both his wife and daughter were staring at a point just behind him.

"… which is of course a fine art, just like any other…" he quickly added.

Lord Melrakki's dreamy voice sounded from behind his back.  
"I can see the stars forgot to mention the lack of brain cells you still suffer from, Thor the Thunderer…" he said in what Frigga could only describe as a dark tone which surprised her. She looked back at her father. Thor smiled dryly.

"I do hope our … misunderstandings in the past won't interfere with this night of celebration…" he said rather sternly. Lord Melrakki smiled softly.

"Obviously… no child can chose its parentage…"

Thor almost turned purple, but managed to remain calm. Lord Melrakki turned his gaze on Jane and smiled softly. Afterwards he looked back at Frigga and bowed his head before walking away.

The four of them stayed silent for a moment.

"You brainless imbecile!" Loki hissed after a couple of seconds. Thor looked up, showing his most innocent smile possible.

The young king rolled his eyes. "You'll get us into a war one day!"

"Says the man who got Frost Giants into Asgard!" Thor threw back.

Loki sighed. "A joke, Thor! And I wasn't the one who decided to start fighting off the whole of Jotenheim!"

Thor just ignored Loki and drank from his goblet. His wife finally managed to rip her eyes from the five Light Elves who were walking through the room, introducing themselves to the other guests.

"Nope.." she said. "I don't like them…"

The next one to make their way to the throne were of course the Drottinn family from Vanaheim who had found it necessary to first introduce themselves to the other guests – aka potential future clients – before meeting the new princess.

After the Light Elves, the little girl didn't feel like anything could surprise her anymore. Yet, the Drottinn family really overdid themselves. Not only were they, as Frigga had expected, extremely cocky, they were also rude, laughed at everyone including Frigga and Loki without shame and only attempted to sell Frigga some personal training grounds on Vanaheim.

The young princess was happy that her uncle and parents were at her side now. They could handle all this grown up stuff like saying "NO!" for example.

When every important soul had had a chance to feel more important, Frigga finally saw the ones she been waiting for the entire evening: The Dwarfs. Of course it wasn't the first time she'd seen them, but now that they had left their dark tunnels of Nidvellir and entered the light halls of Asgard, Frigga was once again taken by surprise. The Dwarfs had a rather small build, hairy faces and hands and a pair of dark glistening eyes under their massive eyebrows. They obviously had dressed up for the occasion, but the dirt covering their skin would probably never fade. There were three dwarfs. The first one was the tallest of the lot. His wild blond hairs and beard were both bound together in a scruffy braid. He wore a dark red vest above a pair of dark trousers. Around his neck twinkled a golden chain embellished with numerous diamonds and precious stones. He marched inside with big steps. Behind him followed two other dwarfs who looked quite alike. They both had dark black hair, dark eyes like beetles and big hands. Frigga had met both of them. They were named Brokkr and Eitri and they were twins. They were famous for their craftsmanship and had forged many of the royal weapons and armours.

The twins were dragging along a big bag, bound together with a long rope. When the three Dwarfs had reached the throne they bowed for Loki and turned to Frigga who smiled brightly.

"Princess Frigga!" the blond one shouted loudly. "It is an honour to meet you and see your famous beauty for myself!"

Frigga blushed and muttered a word of gratitude.

The blond Dwarf continued. "My name is Hreidmar and I am the Dwarf King!"

Brokkr sniggered. "Yes, when he feels like it!"

His brother laughed loudly and Hreidmar threw both of them a meaningful glare, although he was obviously enjoying the joke himself. He turned back to Frigga.

"Just like ordered we forged our best armour yet!" he said pompously while Brokkr and Eitri lifted the packed once more and dropped it in front of Frigga's feet. The little girl stared down in excitement and used all her willpower to not rip open the parcel. Hreidmar carried on with his speech, but the words didn't really find their way through. As in trance, Frigga stared at the packet while the two brothers slowly untied the ropes.

After what seemed ages, Frigga could see the first bits of her future armour. Frigga wanted to move forward when she suddenly felt a soft, yet stern pet on her shoulder. She looked up and met Loki's piercing eyes.

The young king gestured to Hreidmar who had finished his speech and seemed to be waiting for an answer. Probably one of those royal answers with lots of difficult words. Since he was only a few inches taller than Frigga, his eyes were almost on the same level and it was a lot harder to ignore him.

Frigga's mouth ran dry. The whole room was watching her.

"It's beautiful… sir…" she managed to say. Hreidmar frowned.

"Princess Frigga will wear the armour with pride, just like you demanded, my lord…" Loki quickly said. Frigga looked up, silently thanking her uncle for helping her out. The little girl nodded fiercely. Hreidmar beamed with proud and smiled.

"May this armour protect you throughout your life, dear princess. Its metals are made to grow with you and offer you the best of protection in every situation.

Frigga nodded vaguely. Her attention was drawn back to the armour which was now, finally, fully unpacked. It was breath-taking! The Dwarfs hadn't been lying. The metal shone bright and silver and moved around like waves on water as if it was trying to find the perfect fit. Loki moved his fingers around and the armour slowly rose up until it was floating in the air right in front of the speechless Frigga.

The room went silent for a moment.

"From this day forward," Loki started in a strong voice which reached every single corner of the room, "you have a new princess. For ever more she shall be known as Princess Frigga: the Lady of Light!"

"Hip Hip Hooray!" Fandral's voice sounded, immediately followed by a thunderous applause. Frigga smile widely and felt her blood rise to her cheeks. She looked up at Loki and found her uncle smiling proudly. He gestured to the floating armour. Frigga bit her lip, but eventually nodded. While the applause slowly died, except of course for Fandral and Volstagg who were having their own competition, Loki moved the armour closer to the excited little girl. The second the silver metal touched her skin, it opened and carefully moved along her body until it fitted perfectly. A few seconds later, the metal made one last click. Frigga looked down. Her armour shone bright silver, although it didn't cover her whole body. A thin silver breastplate hung from her right shoulder, across her upper body to her left thigh. Her back was fully covered with an incredibly intricate network of silver vines. A curved silver vine curled down from her right shoulder, across the skin of her right arm until it reached her wrist and ended in a tiny ring on her middle finger. As for her legs, they were both covered in a shiny plate on the outside of her thighs. The plates ran down to her knees where they curved over her shins before ending in two silver rings around her ankles.

The girl looked in pure awe to the detail and beauty of her armour. Just like the Dwarfs had promised it only gave her that what she needed which was now a ceremonial and simple, not that heavy armour which showed her grace and status.

When the little girl looked up she found the whole room in silence. The second her eyes met their's everyone kneeled down or bowed their head. Frigga blinked confusedly. Even Fandral, who threw her a big wink had sunk down on one knee. Lady Sif and the other warriors had done the same. Frigga looked to her left and found both her parents, too, bowing their head with proud smiles on their lips. When Frigga turned to Loki, hoping for some explanation, she was astonished to see Loki bow as well.

The young king could sense the girl's unease and quickly looked up. A playful sparkle lit up his light grey eyes.

"You're our princess now, Frigga…" he whispered so that only Frigga could hear him. "Tell them to rise again…"

Frigga's mouth was bone dry. Her brain set off every possible alarm bell. Noting seemed to function anymore an she was starting to panic. Loki smiled softly and smiled encouragingly.

Frigga licked her dry lips even though her tongue felt like sandpaper.

She turned back to the room. She was scared, she was hot, she was shivering, she was panicking, she was sweating, she was thirsty and nervous, but some ancient power, resting in her heart suddenly came to the surface and gave her lips the strength to form the right words.

"You… you may rise…" she heard herself say rather awkwardly, yet a lot stronger than she felt. "Please…" she quickly added.

Loki smiled and arose. Once he'd got back on his feet the others followed his example.

"Thank you…" Frigga said, shifting her feet timidly.

Some people smiled, some laughed and Frigga felt a lot better. She got a thumbs up from Arya, a big grin from Sif and another wink from Fandral.

And that was it… Frigga was officially the princess of Asgard and the second one in line for throne, right after her father. Not that she really understood the meaning of that yet… But that all didn't matter for the young princess. She only smiled and played with her amazed new friends and her beautiful wolf, Prince. Not once she even thought about the possibility of problems. This night was simply perfect in every way.

Yet, in the world of the grown-ups, dark clouds threatened to cover the bright sun. While Frigga was running around with her friends, Loki and Thor set down at the main table right across Lord Melrakki and the other Light Elves. Arya, Sif and The Warriors Three joined as well and Jane decided to stand behind her husband and follow the conversation. Although both parties seemed calm and friendly, an noticeable tension hung in the air.

While one of the servants poured Lord Melrakki a new goblet of wine, the Light Elf king turned to Loki.

"As we discussed earlier this evening: my people are very interested in how exactly you managed to purge the stone of its dark magic," he said in his dreamy voice.

Loki smiled. "You must forgive me my rudeness, but I doubt you don't know that already. I am certain the stars spoke of what happened on Vanaheim."

Melrakki smiled softly and drank from his goblet, his light silver eyes not once leaving Loki's.

"The White Witch…. Allmother Frigga…" he admitted after a long tense silence. "She stopped the Great Merlin from the other side. A fearsome battle it was… But in the end the apprentice defeated the master…"

Loki could not hide the proud sparkle in his light grey eyes.

"Her power was strong enough… stronger than the ancient dark spells…" Loki added almost in a whisper.

Lord Melrakki nodded. "Truly remarkable…" he said without emotion. "And of course, we cannot forget His Majesties extraordinary actions… I have to admit: I never thought a sorcerer of your…"

Loki's eyes turned dark for a second and an almost creepy grin crossed Lord Melrakki's face.

"… _special kind_…" he continued. "… was ever capable of preforming this form of pure Light Magic."

Loki's nostrils flared, but the young king knew better than anyone that showing disrespect to a Light Elf was the last thing you had to try, so he smiled.

"Let us skip the flattering," he answered sternly, "and get to business. I believe the Elves are, by all good means, not just here to congratulate Asgard with its victory."

Lord Melrakki turned silent for a couple of seconds. He shared a quick glance with the other Elves.

"The Valkyrja Stone was taken from us by force, by the Dark Race. After the war Asgard claimed it as his own, a dark relic of war…"

Loki nodded. "With the admittance of the Light Elves. If I remember correctly, you yourself, Lord Melrakki, were present when your father signed the treaty. The Stone was a danger to everyone who held it and safer kept on Asgard."

"That treaty was broken when you _yourself_, my lord, stole the stone and used it on The Allfather."

Loki felt a pinch of fear. These Elves knew too much… Not that blackmail was in their nature, but still… he didn't like it! Time to start biting back!

"That is entirely outside this matter. I _took_ the Valkyrja Stone decades ago. I practised its magic for years… I used it once, six years ago! If you had any objection of any kind you should have acted back then… or did the stars forget to mention my _actions_?"

Lord Melrakki's eyes shifted colour. For a second they were dark as night.

"Fair enough, my lord…" he finally said darkly. "Yet that treaty was signed for a Dark Stone… now that it has returned back to its original state, it belongs to the Light Elves. It is no longer a threat and my people can use it _correctly_!"

Loki immediately responded. "The Stone is property of Asgard now. Besides, we are not certain of its potential now. It has seen many kinds of magic… it might be too dangerous to be used."

"And still, you plan on bringing Odin back…" Lord Melrakki continued.

This time it was Thor who intervened. "What we do with it is none of your business. Ever since that treaty, the Stone belongs to Asgard!"

The Light Elf turned to Thor with an almost amused smile.

"Excuse me… did you say something?"

Thor started losing his temper again, so Arya quickly took over.

"Why do you want it back so badly?" she asked. The Elf turned to her.

"The Stone is a part of our past, it's our legacy."

Lady Sif also joined in. "From what I've heard your people were only too happy to leave the Dark Stone on Asgard after the War Against Darkness…"

"Indeed…" Fandral added. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've just been waiting for this to happen… Let Asgard face the trouble. Let's see if they can fix the Stone. And now that we have, you just come and claim it after decades of silence…"

Loki smiled when he found Lord Melrakki speechless for a couple of seconds.

The young king cleared his throat. "I believe we are making ourselves clear…" he said. "The Valkyrja Stone remains on Asgard!"

Unfortunately Lord Melrakki wasn't one to just give up. The two parties discussed the matter throughout the whole night while the other guests were having the time of their lives.

When Loki finally fell back into his own, soft bed, feeling more exhausted than ever, he once more cursed his kingship. How he missed the mischief, the jokes, the sneaking around invisibly, the hours of reading, the time he used to spend on exploring portals between the worlds, …

Yet, the young king didn't have too much time to worry before he sank into a deep sleep.

Everywhere in the castle people got ready for a good night sleep after a night of drinking, dancing and laughing. This was a night that would be remembered! And so, Asgard slowly dropped off to sleep, enjoying the fake perfection while October swiftly closed in.

* * *

**Not much, I know... but we all know what happens next! I hope you liked it!**

**By the way! I would like to tell you all about this amazing book I read!**

**THE GOSPEL OF LOKI ****by**** JOANNE M. HARRIS. **

**Some of you might have read it already and otherwise go and give it a try. It's no "big" literature, but it's fun and easy reading. A real page turner! If you already read it/ are going to read it than you might notice some little details from the the story which I used in this fanfiction. Couldn't help myself ;P**

**So go ahead! Read it and let me know what you thought! I certainly liked it and would recommend it to everyone who loves our favourite trickster! It's also a very fun way to get to know the "original" Edda story... Although I must say, it's a bit of an edited version. You'll see...**

**Anyway, please review! And thank you for reading! I got my hundredth review, THANK YOU GUYS! You make my day every time!**

**Rumple x**


	51. Chapter 50

**Hi Ho everyone! It's been a while... a short while... But I did not forget you! The world should end before I did! Because I love you guys! **

**All right, let us just ignore everything I said above... It happens guys! Don't judge me! (But I still mean it ;p)**

**;)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 50**_

While October cautiously crept forward, the tension in the palace grew. Faces turned grim, voices became whispers. And even Frigga started feeling uncomfortable.

On the morning of the thirty-first of October, only tired and dark faces appeared at breakfast. No one had had a proper night sleep.

Frigga looked even more grim than her friends, since she had just found out that she was not to join her parents to Jotenheim. Frigga had been ordered to stay on Asgard under the care of the parents of Bjorn and Brenna, two of her new friends. Their mother, Eira, worked as a healer, their father, Kale, worked at the stables and took care of Frigga's horse, Lyn .

The little girl muttered angrily while she stabbed her breakfast with her spoon. It's wasn't like anything could happen to her! Not with her parents, the Warriors Three, Arya and Loki present. But no, little Frigga couldn't join!

Ever since she'd woken up that morning she been scheming over a plan to get to Jotunheim either way, but all she could come up with was just impossible.

_Maybe I can fit in a bag… Then I just come along with the horses… _she thought, but Frigga quickly shook her head. That wouldn't work. The horses weren't coming.

_Maybe if I ask Loki… he could turn me invisible! _Frigga looked up, but the young king - as ever - was not at breakfast. And she doubted Loki was in the mood for a joke today. Besides, the young king was just as worried about her wellbeing as everyone else.

_Maybe there's a spell in Loki's book I could try…_ Frigga ran over that idea. During the last two months, Loki had given her, her first lessons whenever he had some time left, but magic turned out to be a lot more difficult than Frigga had initially expected. For now, she hadn't gotten anywhere! Loki on the other hand never lost his optimistic approach and told Frigga she was doing great. The little girl smirked. She knew she was terrible… so she forgot about her idea.

Across the little girl set Thor and Jane. They were both tired and ate their breakfast in silence. Thor cast a quick look on his wife. He wasn't so sure about her coming to Jotunheim, but he hadn't managed to change her mind. The whole night he'd been tossing and turning, thinking about what would happen today. He would see his father again, but in what state? In fact Thor had to admit that, while the days past, his former hatred towards his brother had dug its way to the surface. No matter how hard he tried, every time he thought about what would happen, a deep and dark desire filled his being. Loki had gone too far this time and although Thor didn't doubt about his qualities as a king, he couldn't forget about the idea of revenge.

_What if I cannot control my anger today? _he asked himself while staring at the cold bacon on his plate. He was supposed to take Loki's side when Odin awoke and craved for vengeance. He should protect his brother, try to convince his father that Loki was a good king!

_And what if I cannot convince father? What will he do to Loki? What will he do to us?_

Thor bid his lip. It was a thought that had hunted him for the last weeks. Because of what Loki had done, Thor had in fact never seen his father after betraying him. He'd never known what Odin had in mind. If he was planning on punishing him or not? If he was angry, or somehow proud? And what about his friends? His title as prince might have saved his skin, but his friends didn't have that luxury. The fact that Loki imprisoned them, now seemed a rather good option compared to what Odin could have done.

-xxx-

Jane swallowed. She had tried to eat something, but it seemed her stomach kept on turning. She had never been so nervous. The thing was that she didn't even fully understood why she was so anxious. All that was going to happen was that Odin would be back tonight. All that could go wrong was that he refused to crown Loki king, or place the spell himself. If that was the case than…

_Well…_ Jane thought with a frown. _That would be a shame, but so be it… I am a human after all. Maybe I'm not meant to be immortal. Maybe Frigga can be turned. At least she can stay with Thor then. And if she can't, then she'll stay with me… _

Jane tried to smile to herself, but it didn't really work out. Another, more alarming thought took over.

_What if he doesn't like the fact that Thor married me? What if he sends me back, with or without Frigga! And what about Frigga! Is she even … allowed? Is she the first halfblood child? Thor didn't know… But probably not, right? It would be too big of a coincidence… But what if she is not allowed on Asgard? What if the reason that Thor doesn't know about other halfgods is that they were… _

Jane felt her stomach shrink to a minimum. She couldn't even think of that! She wouldn't let him! Odin wouldn't touch her child!

The worried mother took a deep breath. The first thing she needed to worry about was Thor and the fact that he wouldn't kill Loki today. Her husband hadn't been himself and that troubled Jane. The last thing they needed was to return to Asgard and tell Frigga that her father had killed her favourite uncle…

-xxx-

A bit further at the table set Sif and the Warriors Three. Sif cast a suspicious look on Thor who was sitting at the other end of the table and seemed to be lost in thoughts. She turned to her friends.

"Guys!" she hissed. Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun shot up straight. They'd all been far away. With her eyes, Sif gestured to Thor. "We need to keep an eye on him today…" she whispered. The three warriors followed her stare and nodded.

"That's easier said than done, Sif…" Fandral whispered back. Volstagg nodded and turned back to his female friend. A serious expression covered his face.

"Think about it Sif… What if he tries to kill Loki in his anger… What side do you think we'll choose? What side have we always chosen?"

Sif sighed. "Things are different now, right?"

Fandral smiled softly. "Yes, but are they different enough? Face it Sif, if it comes to choosing a leader, we've always chosen Thor. Even if later turned out that Loki had been a better option."

"If Thor loses it today, we'll do what is right!" Sif bit back. "Letting him kill Loki is going to get us nowhere! On the contrary!"

"That's what you say now, Sif," Hogun joined in. "Who knows what will happen tonight…"

Sif sighed and scowled while she crossed her arms before her chest. "I think Thor is the least of our problems, really… Who knows what Odin will do? After all, it wouldn't surprise me if he missed out on the last six years. He doesn't know anything about anything! How are we going to insure him that Loki is the king, let alone a good king!"

Fandral nodded. "Don't forget that we, in fact, never got punished. The only reason we didn't get banished is because Asgard was in desperate need of warriors. Who knows what will happen now?"

Sif bit her lip. "I hadn't even thought of that yet…"

Volstagg leaned over the table. "Yes and what about Loki and Thor? For as far as the Allfather knows, Loki only just broke free… I doubt he'll be as merciful as last time! Then there was Queen Frigga to stop the axe from swinging."

Hogun's eyes turned sad. "Not to forget, the grief for his wife is still very fresh. A grieved man does stupid things..."

Sif groaned. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. "This is going to get a lot harder than I thought…" she whispered.

-xxx-

At the very end of the table set Arya. She stared down at her breakfast, but she still wasn't hungry. The young Captain sighed. For the two months, Loki had barely said a word to her. Maybe she was imaging things, but the young king seemed to ignore her. He looked past her in the hallways, he'd stopped asking her opinion, more than once the Lords had to repeat her ideas before Loki payed any attention to them. Arya groaned. She remembered all too well what she had said on Frigga's birthday party, but she still couldn't see why Loki was hurt by her words. Time after time, she repeated her words in her mind. She was starting to fear that she'd forgotten parts of their conversation. All she'd spoken off was good and bad… Or at least some drunk, abstract version of it…

Arya shook her head. Why was she thinking about this? In couple of hours, she would be standing on Jotunheim, witnessing her king doing Black Magic. A cold shiver ran down the young Captain's spine. Again she had trouble facing the fact that Loki was capable of doing something so dark. No she came to think of it… would the Valkyrja stone still work now that it no longer held any Dark Magic?

_What if it doesn't? _she thought. _Asgard will have no king any longer, for eternity! Unless of course… Loki kills Odin's body…_

Arya swallowed. Would Loki do that? And would Thor let him? He knew it would be necessary, but would he kill his father in cold blood? Odin would never know…

And what if Odin took revenge on Loki? What if he killed him? Arya felt the cold stab of hatred cut through her heart. She didn't understand why, but the idea of losing Loki… Odin would pay if he even dared to think about it!

The young Captain shook her head again. What was she thinking! What was happening to her?

Arya was violently ripped from her thoughts when a servant suddenly tapped on her shoulder. Arya turned around a little too quickly.

The servant jumped back, slightly startled.

"My apologies, Captain, my lady…" he said. Arya sighed. She knew the servant. He had been a childhood friend of hers. Ever since she'd been promoted to Captain, every servant seemed to be able to kiss her feet.

" Sven, please… Don't…" she said kindly. The servant grinned.

"I just came to tell you that the king is requesting your presence in the throne room."

Arya smiled shortly. "I see.." she said silently while a new kind of nervousness took hold of her. "Thank you, Sven…" she said while getting up from the table, leaving her breakfast untouched. The servant smiled and took the full plate and goblet.

"You're most welcome, my lady!"

Arya threw him an amused smile and watched Sven walk down the table to tell Lady Sif and the Warriors Three the news as well.

The young Captain turned around and slowly made her way to the throne room. When she entered she found Loki standing on the balcony. The young king seemed to be lost in thoughts while he played with the Valkyrja stone in his hands, throwing it up and down.

Arya licked her dry lips and cleared her throat.

"My king…" she said while bowing shortly just before Sif and Warriors Three entered the room behind her. Loki turned around.

"Ah, thank you for coming!" he said to Sif, who smiled shortly. Loki made his way to the table while Thor and Jane also entered the room.

"I called you here to discuss the events of tonight one last time," the young king started while putting the stone down on the table. "As you probably already noticed: today is the thirty first of October, Winter Nights… or Halloween. Today, and only today, the spirit world and our world collide. Only today I'll be capable to bring Odin's soul back to his body without the use of too much Dark Energy. Any questions so far?"

Loki threw a quick look around. Arya took her chance.

"Does the stone still function as before?" she said more silently than she'd hoped, but Loki just continued.

"All right, the worlds will be closest tonight, at midnight to be exact. That's the moment when…"

"Arya had a question…" Thor interrupted. Loki looked up, slightly irritated.

"What?" he asked.

"Arya asked you a question!" Thor repeated while gesturing to the young Captain who immediately regretted asking anything in the first place. Loki sighed.

"What question?" he asked shortly.

Arya raised her eyebrows. Loki wasn't even looking at her! Accepting that she'd had something wrong was one thing. That Loki was hurt by it, was another, but to just ignore her without any hint of what she possibly could have said wrong was going too far!

"I asked whether the stone would still work, now that the Dark Elf Energy is no longer part of it?" she asked sternly.

Loki looked taken aback, but quickly recovered.

"Of course it will work!" he answered harshly. "Or did you think that I didn't take that possibility into account? The reason I planned this on Winter Nights is that I won't be needing to much Dark Energy. The Light Elves brought lost souls back on this very evening!"

Arya stared back, determined not to brake the eye contact. Loki waited a few seconds before continuing.

"As I was saying, " he said while slowly fixing his attention back on the table. "The ritual will be performed at midnight. That means that we only have one chance! As long as no one interrupts me, it should be a piece of cake."

The young king shut up for a second to make sure everyone understood the importance of this matter.

"Furthermore, as you all know, Odin's body is on Jotunheim. Even though I've hidden him in a rather remote valley, Jotunheim is still considered as enemy territory. If we are discovered, we'll be at their mercy, which I would like to avoid at any cost."

"What do we do if we get discovered?" Fandral asked.

"Nothing!" Loki responded. "We do not fight!" the young king threw an amused glare to his brother. "Last time that didn't turn out pretty well, as I'm sure I don't need to remind you. And this time we also have a mortal in our midst. _If _we get discovered our first priority is to get Jane out!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But we won't get discovered if you all just follow my orders!" Loki added with a smile.

"And what do we do when the Allfather's back?" Sif asked.

Loki's eyes turned dark. "I guess the only thing we can do: talk!"

The others shared a look. Loki turned to Jane.

"I can't promise Odin will crown me king nor that he will be prepared to cast the spell himself."

Loki turned to the Sif and the Warriors Three. "Neither can I promise that he won't punish you for your betrayal towards him."

Sif continued.

"It's possible that, if Odin refuses to accept me as a king, which wouldn't surprise me to be honest, that all my decisions over the last few years will be counted as false."

Arya frowned. Although Loki was still ignoring her, she had the feeling that that last comment was meant for her. After all, she'd become Captain under his rule. Could she loose her title?

Loki licked his lips. "Now, before we leave there is one thing I must be certain about. Can I count on every single one of you for one hundred percent?" he asked. Loki looked up and looked his friends straight in the eyes. "Because if this thing goes south, then you… are my only hope…" he added in a silent voice, annoyed that he actually would have to count on them to save his skin.

Sif and the Warriors Three shared a look before nodding. Loki looked up at Thor.

"Thor?" he asked. The God of Thunder seemed to hesitate, but finally nodded.

"All right…" Loki concluded. "Then we'll meet each other at the Bifröst tonight, ten o'clock, sharp! You don't tell anyone where you're going!"

Everyone nodded and left. Loki watched them walk through the doors while his fingers closed around the Valkyrja stone. The young king slowly made his way towards the balcony while a cold feeling to a grip on his heart. Although, Loki wouldn't easily accept it, he was getting scared. Really scared. The more he tried to convince himself that things would turn out fine, the more he felt betrayed by his own thoughts. Once Odin was back there would be no escaping for the young king. Loki leaned on the balustrade and looked over his city. Maybe tonight was his last night… Odin would kill him, he felt it in bones, in every fibre of his existence. And even though Loki was a strong sorcerer, he was no match for the Allfather. Maybe he would last a couple of seconds. Maybe long enough for the others to safe him, but the young king doubted his friends would still choose his side, once their _real _king was back. Arya probably would… but she wouldn't be able to protect him.

_Perhaps it's better if I just blow my chance on purpose… Odin doesn't come back, I'll be safe for another year…_

But Loki knew that wouldn't work. Thor wouldn't be very amused. Sif and the Warriors Three would followed him. And besides, the young king felt way too guilty towards Frigga. One more year… that was one more year in which she could die. Who knew what dangers were lying ahead? She would be safer as an immortal. The least he could do was give it a try.

-xxx-

That night, at ten to ten, Loki dismounted his horse at the entrance of the Bifröst. With the same fear and nervousness playing in his stomach he walked inside to the front of the Bifröst to greet Heimdall.

"My king…" the guardian said. Loki nodded.

"Any troubles on Jotunheim, Heimdall?" he asked.

The guardian shook his head. "They remain as calm as ever, my lord."

"That's good…" Loki answered vaguely.

"You're troubled, my king…" Heimdall said after a short silence. Loki didn't answer right away, but just stared into the universe.

"Tell me, Heimdall. You've known Odin longer than anyone. Am I…" Loki turned quiet. His throat felt dry. He couldn't believe he was asking this. "Am I coming back tonight?" he finally said.

Heimdall smiled softly. "I have known the Allfather long indeed. If there is one thing I've learned than that is that his actions are often coloured by events."

Loki sighed. "That's not really helping…"

Heimdall laughed shortly. "An honest answer in not necessarily a good one…"

"I guess that depends on your definition of a _good answer_…" Loki answered dryly.

The sound of hooves interrupted Loki's thoughts. The young king and the guardian looked up. Thor and Arya came to a stop next to Loki's horse. Jane was sitting behind Thor, holding on for her dear life. In the distance Loki could spot Lady Sif and Warriors Three.

Once every one had dismounted and entered the Bifröst, Heimdall made his way to the centre and got ready.

The others took their places in front. Jane decided to stay with Thor.

The God of Thunder took his place next to Loki. After some hesitation he looked up.

"Loki…" he stared. "I … eer.. I just wanted to say. Whatever happens tonight. You are and have been a great king!"

Loki grinned. "Did you ever doubt me, brother?" he asked just before the rainbow beams grabbed him and sucked the fellowship of eight to Jotunheim.

-xxx-

The cold air immediately closed around the group of eight when their feet touched the icy ground.

Fandral growled. "Nope… I didn't miss it!" he complained. Sif sighed and pulled her coat a bit tighter around her shoulders.

"Let's get moving…" she proposed. Loki nodded in agreement.

"Follow me, it's about an hour walking from here."

The young king turned around and lead the way over the icy plain.

After about fifty minutes they finally came to a halt at the edge of a cliff. Beneath them lay a small valley. Loki pointed down at an almost invisible crack in the opposite wall. "That's where we need to go…" he said. His friends only nodded and followed the young king over a small path that steeply lead down the cliff.

After another fifteen minutes of walking they finally made it to the bottom of the cliff. Trembling and slightly nervous, the fellowship crossed the valley towards the crack while an icy wind blew in their faces.

"Here we are…" Loki said silently when they finally reached the wall. Behind him Volstagg and Fandral sighed in unison. Both warriors sank down on the nearest boulder.

Thor and Sif shared a look before turning to Loki who was still standing with his back to the others.

Thor stepped forward, ignoring Jane's warning glare. "So, where is father?" he asked in a low voice. Loki slowly turned.

"Odin is hidden. I'll show him too you when the time is there…" he answered with a small grin playing on his lips.

Thor took a deep breath, but decided not to argue with his brother.

"I'll have to make some preparations. We've got about forty-five minutes left. Make yourself comfortable." Loki ordered. "Fires are allowed, juts prevent any smoke!"

The others shared a look before deciding to sit down, close to the wall, out of the reach of the icy wind. Fandral and Arya got a small fire going. Ten minutes later, everyone, except Loki was sitting around the fire. The young king was standing a bit further, his back turned to the fire.

"Just leave him for a second, Thor…" Jane said when she noticed her husband was staring at his brother's back. Thor turned back to the fire and tried to smile. He closed his arm around his wife and pulled her closer. Jane put her head on his shoulder and stared at the flames for a second.

"He's scared, you know…" she eventually said. The other's looked up as well.

"Who, Thor?" Fandral asked confusedly.

Jane smiled and set up straight. "No, Loki of course! Am I the only one who noticed that?"

Arya looked up from her blade she'd been cleaning. "You're right…" she said. "He's basically terrified."

Volstagg laughed. "Loki? Scared? I doubt it!"

Jane cast the warrior a meaningful glare. "He is, you know…"

Arya nodded in agreement. "The whole day…" she added vaguely.

"Why would Loki be scared?" Fandral asked, although he already knew the answer. Everybody knew, but no one dared to think about it.

"Things don't necessarily have to go wrong…" Volstagg said after short silence.

Thor shook his head. "It's Loki… He knows what can go wrong! If he thinks this could end bad than we better don't pretend it won't."

The seven of them turned silent for a second. Arya took a deep breath. "What will The Allfather do?" she asked Thor. Everyone turned to the God of Thunder, knowing that if someone knew, it would be him.

Thor's eyes turned sad. "I don't know…" he eventually said. Silence fell over the campfire. Volstagg and Fandral decided to start playing a game of _pile-up-as-many-stones-as-possible-while-trying-to-destroy-each-other's-pile _to pass the time_. _After a couple of minutes Thor and Hogun joined in and Jane crossed the circle to talk to Sif and Arya.

Sif turned to Jane. "I never asked," she stared awkwardly, "but how was the wedding?"

Jane smiled widely. Finally Sif seemed to agree with her marriage.

"Well, I have to say… it wasn't easy…" she said with a smile. "We had to go to SHIELD to get Thor an official certificate of … well… existence! He had to be _human _to be able to marry me. SHIELD fixed that for us. We married in London, in a small chapel. The only ones there were some of our friends. Erik, Clint, Natasha, Darcy and Ian, Hill, Steve and Bruce. Tony didn't find it necessary to send a life version of himself, so he send an Iron Man suit. Pepper managed to find some time, but she missed her flight. It was someone from SHIELD who did the ceremony. It wasn't much, but… " Jane went silent. A dreamy smile covered her lips, "it was my wedding. And it was all I dreamed it would be…"

Sif smiled. "Not only have I no idea who all those people are except for Erik the scientist and Darcy the intern, also, I think that you Midgardians make too much fuss about marriage! So many rules…"

Jane laughed. "Perhaps…" she agreed.

Arya smiled as well. "Does your family know?" she asked.

Jane's smile disappeared. "No… I couldn't tell them… Maybe someday…"

The three of them went silent.

"What about you, Sif?" Jane suddenly asked. "I can't imagine that in thousand years, you never married."

Sif smiled and shook her head. "It never happened, I'm afraid. I've had some boyfriends along the way, but nothing serious…"

Jane smiled mysteriously. "Oh, come on, tell us!"

Sif raised her hands in front of her body. "No, no… really! I'm not going to bother you with that! Let's just assume that every single one of them turned out to be an epic pussy!"

Jane and Arya laughed over the crackling of the fire.

"Poor guys…" Jane said with a fake sad frown. Sif threw her an amused grin. The lady warrior turned to Arya.

"What of you, Arya? You fancy anyone? That servant boy certainly seemed to like you!"

Arya instantly stopped laughing. "Sven? No… no way!"

Jane raised her eyebrows. "Is that a stutter I heard?" she asked with a smile.

Arya rolled her eyes. "No! Sven and I are just friends! Besides, I believe he married a girl of Vanaheim a couple of years ago…"

Sif and Jane shared a look. "All right, maybe someone else than?" Sif asked.

Arya's silence gave her away. Jane laughed excitedly. "Oh, there is someone!" she sheered. Sif came to sit closer to Arya. "Come on Arya, tell us! Who's the lucky guy?"

The young warrior felt her cheeks turn red. She knew she was caught.

"Or girl!" Jane added. "No shame!"

Sif nodded in agreement. Arya felt the two women stare. Why was she feeling so uncomfortable? This wasn't the first time her friends caught her with a crush. The only problem was that Arya had never really considered her feelings as a crush. Only now, now that Jane and Sif mentioned it…

Arya's eyes desperately searched for a way to avoid the two women's stares. She looked over Jane's shoulder, past the licking red flames of the campfire.

Sif and Jane followed her stare and found… Loki's back. The young king stood close to the crack in the wall. In his hands he held the Valkyrja stone. Whatever he was doing, Loki didn't seem to notice the three women's gazes.

Sif's and Jane's mouth fell open in astonishment. Slowly they turned back to the blushing warrior in between them. The two women shared a look to make sure they were thinking the same thing.

"No way!" Sif said in awe.

Arya turned back to her. "W.. What?" she asked.

Jane laughed. "Loki?!" she said in a loud whisper. "Loki? You fancy Loki?"

Arya turned almost purple. "No!" she answered a little too quickly.

Jane's eyes grew even bigger. "You do!" she exclaimed. "Oh my God!"

"How in Odin's name?" Sif joined in. "It's Loki!"

Jane smiled awkwardly. "Well… I'm sure Loki has his perks…"

"Guys, I don't!" Arya shouted.

Jane and Sif shared a look and raised their eyebrows. They knew better.

"I guess Loki can be charming…" Sif said. "If you like _creepy_!"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Sif!" she said with a smile. The lady warrior raised her shoulders.

"What? He can be a bit of a creep!"

"That's not true!" Arya responded.

"Oh, classic!" Jane exclaimed.

"She's defending him!" Sif added. "How adorable!"

"Guys, I'm not…!" Arya tried but Jane put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, Arya… you definitely are!"

Sif nodded in agreement.

Arya turned silent. She cast a swift look on the young king. Immediately her stomach was filled with a million butterflies. She groaned.

Sif whistled between her teeth. "You got it bad…" she said a lot more understanding now.

Jane frowned. "How long is this been going on?" she asked.

Arya rubbed her eyes. "I don't know… " she finally admitted. There was no use in pretending anymore. Not to her friends and not to herself. "I honestly don't know!"

Arya sighed. "This is pathetic!" she exclaimed after a short silence.

"Yeah…" Sif said with a nod. Jane threw her a meaningful glare. The time for teasing was over.

"Why do you think it pathetic?" she asked, allowing her mother instinct to handle this situation.

Arya sniggered. "Why? Do you still need to ask? It's Loki! He won't… I couldn't…. I'd never… he.."

Arya groaned once more, while she desperately searched for words. "He doesn't even look at me anymore! I blew my chances if there ever were any!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Jane said sternly. "Look, I'm not going to lie, I don't see Loki having a relationship right away, but I guess anything's possible."

"Exactly!" Sif joined in. "I mean, I never thought anyone could see anything in him!"

Jane and Arya threw her a murderous glare.

"All right, all right…" the lady warrior said with a sigh. "Bad timing… I get it! The thing is, Arya, it's not because Loki is ignoring you that you just have to accept that! Show him what you're made off! He didn't make you Captain because you just follow..."

Arya sighed. "That's not the problem…" she started. "It wasn't like this before. I said something wrong to Loki on Frigga's birthday party. I was drunk! I guess I didn't exactly make the brightest conclusions."

Jane frowned. What in the world could Arya have said that would make Loki ignore her like this?

Sif seemed to share her confusion. She'd known Loki for a long time. The young king could take an insult or two. He'd faced so many in the past.

"What did you talk about?" she asked. Arya frowned, again wondering if she, perhaps, had forgotten parts of that night.

"I guess I was trying to somehow make an impression…" she started awkwardly. Sif grinned.

"Rule number one of drinking: never try to impress a guy in a drunk state! It never works!"

Jane sniggered. "What's rule number two? _There are no rules_?"

Sif grinned even wider. "Basically…" she admitted.

Arya laughed. "I'll keep that in mind…" she said with a smile.

Jane turned back to Arya. "Anyway, what happened? What did you say?"

"That's the thing, you see!" Arya answered. "I don't know what I said wrong! We were just discussing g…"

"It's time!" Loki's voice suddenly sounded. Arya, Sif and Jane turned around. In the light of the flames they could see Loki gesturing that they had to come closer.

"Let's go…" Sif said while grabbing her sword and shield. "This is it!"

* * *

**So... I know, evil me... I'm a terrible person to stop here! But you know... THAT'S WHAT I DO! MAHAHAHAHA!**

**Writers are basically evil people! Truth can hurt... **

**We're only evil when were writing, though! Otherwise were the best! ;)**

**Anyway, let me know what you think. I'll try uploading as soon as possible :)**

**Rumple x**


	52. Chapter 51

**Hi everyone! So this is it! I've been working towards this chapter for quite some time! *Excited me***

**I just hope I didn't f*** up! ;p**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 51**_

Everyone gathered behind Loki. No one dared to say a word. Jane decided to watch from the side, so she softly kissed Thor on the cheek before taking a few steps back to the fire. She shivered in the cold night air and watched the others nervously await orders.

Loki stood in front, in his trembling hands he was still holding the Valkyrja Stone. Slowly, the young king turned around to face his friends.

"All right…" he started while trying to hide his shaking voice. "I'm going to lift the invisibility charm now. Please, try to remember what you promised me…"

Sif shared a look with Arya. The young warrior tried to smile, but that didn't really work out.

Loki locked his eyes one more time with everyone present as if he was trying to somehow apologize for what they would witness tonight. Suddenly he turned to Arya and did the same. The young Captain froze, although her body seemed to be on fire. But just as fast as his attention had come, it disappeared again. Arya watched Loki turn to the dark crack in the wall again. The young king raised one hand and opened his palm. For a second nothing happened, until a sudden green flash lit up the dark night and revealed an icy cell, hidden inside the crack. Slowly everyone adjusted their eyes in the new darkness while they cautiously took a step closer. There, tucked away in the darkest corner, lay a limp and lifeless body. Thor stepped closer until he stood next to his brother and stared through the rocky bars inside the cell. For a couple of seconds, no one said anything, but patiently awaited Thor's judgement. The God of Thunder was speechless. His eyes scanned the body in search for something familiar.

The once so mighty Allfather lay motionless on the cold ground, his back resting against the grey wall, his head had fallen on his right shoulder. He looked exactly like the last day that Thor had seen his father, yet his golden armour had grown dull, his white beard had grown wild and covered most of his now grey and old face. The normal sparkle in his one eye seemed to have vanished. Odin stared into oblivion, no emotion colouring his face.

Thor felt his anger boil inside him, his blood rushed through his veins. All he could see was the limp body of his father, the man who had taught him everything he knew. Thor couldn't think. There was no reason, no pity left. His fingers closed around the handle of the Mighty Mjölnir. With a loud roar Thor lifted his hammer and smashed it hard on Loki's chest. The young king flew backwards until his back hit the wall of the crack. Loki sank to the ground, but Thor was quick to pull him back up and pin him against the wall. With one swift move Thor had dropped Mjölnir and snatched one of Loki's daggers from his brother's belt. The God of Thunder pushed Loki harder against the wall and placed the blade on his throat.

"Thor, stop!" a voice sounded. Jane rushed towards her husband and carefully put a hand on his shaking shoulders. Thor's hand trembled. The silver blade cut though Loki's upper skin, allowing a small stream of blood to flood his neck. The God of Mischief groaned. He could have foreseen Thor's moves and in fact he had, but Loki knew Thor was just letting off steam. He'd counted on the others to stop him in time.

Loki stared back into his brother's watery bright blue eyes while a small grin played on his lips. Thor needed him, and he knew that.

The God of Thunder was trembling with rage. His face was only inches apart from his brother's, but no matter how hard he wanted to kill Loki, he just couldn't.

"How!" he hissed while suppressing his tears. "How could you do… _this…_"

Loki didn't answer, but only grinned wickedly while he slowly, and not without effort, lifted his right hand which was still holding the Valkyrja Stone.

Thor slowly let go of his brother, but not once he broke the eye contact.

Loki cracked his neck and wiped off the blood on his throat. The wound was almost healed by now. "It was easy, really…" he answered silently. "Just as easy as it would be for you, to just kill me now!"

Thor clenched his teeth and closed his fingers around Mjölnir while he angrily threw Loki's in blood covered dagger in the snow. Loki smirked, knowing that Thor couldn't hurt him as long as Odin wasn't back.

Jane softly pulled her husband's shoulder and lead him back to the others. Once the couple had turned their backs on the young king, Loki's smile dropped. The fear in his heart was building up to pure terror. He could smile all he wanted. Thor was just the beginning.

The young king made his way back to the cage and faced the old man inside. A look of absolute disgust spread over his face. It seemed like yesterday he'd dumped Odin's useless body in this godforsaken cell. He couldn't believe that now, only six years later he was about to bring his greatest threat back to life. The young king looked up, to the few stars he could see. It was almost midnight. It was now or never…

Loki took a step back, his friends automatically did the same.

"Whatever happens," Loki said in a strong voice, concealing his fear, "you don't break my concentration!"

Loki didn't wait for an answer, he took a deep breath and threw the stone, through the bars into the cell, towards the lifeless body of the Allfather. Just before it would touch his grey skin, the Valkyrja stone stopped falling and kept floating right next to Odin's arm. Immediately a cold breeze blew through the valley and put out the campfire, leaving the fellowship in complete darkness. Only the stars, which were barely visible above the narrow walls of the valley, shone a dull light on the icy plain.

And then, when the wind suddenly dropped, the Valkyrja stone lit up bright in the dark cell, throwing a warm light over the eight people outside and the limp body against the wall.

Loki slowly sank down on the ground, his legs crossed, his eyes not once leaving the glowing stone in the cell.

The others watched in amazement while the air around them grew colder and colder.

"Am I the only one hearing voices?" Fandral suddenly whispered. A loud hushing followed.

"I think they are the voices of the death…" Arya whispered back after a short silence.

"Right… that's comforting…" Fandral said in a high pitched voice, again with a loud hush as an answer.

Everyone stared at the young king who almost seemed to be in trance. Just when they thought nothing would happen anymore, the temperature dropped critically. A big black whole appeared in the cell. The voices grew louder.

"Odin Allfather, I demand you to return to these realms!" Loki's voice suddenly sounded loud and clear, making everyone jump a foot in the air. For a couple of seconds nothing happened.

"Odin Allfather, I command you to return to these realms!" Loki called out once more, more insisting this time.

The cold breeze returned, making the snow whirl up from the ground into the others' faces. The wind grew in strength while more voices came loud and clear from the dark portal in the cell. Arya covered her face from the sharp snow which cut into her skin like sand in a desert. She was finding it hard to remain standing and the wind only increased in speed.

"Eer..my lord!" she called out while her feet slowly lost grip on the icy ground.

Sif, who was experiencing the same difficulty, called out as well. "Loki!" she screamed, but her voice drowned in a loud cracking noise. She looked up and witnessed how the crack in the cliff started to grow.

"Loki!" Fandral shouted anxiously. "The cliff!"

The wind grew colder and stronger. The voices echoed through the valley.

"Odin Allfather! I command you to return to these realms!" Loki shouted once last time over the roaring of the wind. Suddenly a white spark escaped from the dark portal and dived towards Odin's lifeless body before disappearing in his chest. Loki sprang to his feet and stretched out his hand towards the stone. The wind turned direction and rushed through the bars inside the cell, making the snow fly about the portal in one big white whirl.

And then, just like that, a blinding flash of silver light lit up the valley before the Valkyrja Stone shot back into Loki's outstretched hand. The wind dropped and darkness fell once more. Only the sound of Loki's heavy breathing and the relieved sighs of his friends filled the valley.

A flickering green ball of light appeared and lit up the dark crack in the wall. Loki looked up. The crack had made its way up and almost reached the top. He sighed in relief. They would have had a serious problem if the cliff had decided to cave in on them. The young king looked down on the Valkyrja stone. It looked just as it had before.

Fandral sighed and laughed. "Well… I thought you said that this would be a piece of cake!" he exclaimed. His blond hairs were filled with white snowflakes, just as his coat, but his eternal smile had returned to his face. The golden warrior looked up at the stars.

"It's past midnight… The first of November…" he announced. Fandral looked down again and licked his curved lips. There was only one question everyone wanted an answer on. "Did… did it work?" he finally asked.

Loki turned to the dark cell in front of him. The others followed his stare.

A low groan, followed by a desperate draw for breath sounded through the night.

Loki swallowed and subconsciously took a step back. Thor on the other hand stepped towards the bars.

"Father…" he said silently. A low moan sounded through the valley. In the little light, a dark silhouette slowly crawled to its knees.

"Thor?" a hoarse voice sounded. The God of Thunder stared back, completely speechless and watched his father slowly get on his shaking legs and step into the little light.

In the meantime Loki had decided to not give Odin the pleasure of seeing him scared and cowering, so he took a deep breath and moved his fingers, allowing his golden sceptre to appear in his palm. The young king forced a serious, slightly challenging expression on his face. Arya came to stand right behind him, a little bit to his right. Sif did the same, but on Loki's left. The Worriers Three followed her example. Jane decided to go stand next to Arya. The young Captain threw her an encouraging smile. Every single one of them had something to fear.

"Thor?" it sounded again, this time a lot stronger.

"Father…" The God of Thunder said in relief. "I cannot say how relieved I am to see alive an… eer.. almost well."

Odin took the last steps to the bars. He seemed confused and rubbed his forehead until he suddenly remembered.

"Thor!" he shouted. "There was a guard, but it wasn't a guard in the end… It was Loki! He tricked me! He tricked us all! You have to stop him!"

Thor bid his lip. Although he still felt a strong anger towards his brother, he couldn't deny the fact that Loki had kept his promise. He'd brought Odin back, even though he'd held all the power needed to trick them once more.

"Father… There are things you need to know. Loki…"

"No, no!" Odin cried out. "I realise what you are thinking, my son! But Loki is not dead! He made us believe so!"

"Father…" Thor tried, but Odin kept going.

"He caged me! He took the throne! He is a traitor! He must be stopped! Loki shall pay for his treachery! He…"

Odin's voice died when his eye suddenly fell on the young king, standing a bit further with a smug smile playing on his lips.

The Allfather raised his finger and pointed towards his stepson.

"You!" he spit hatefully. "You… you… traitor! You… serpent!"

Loki sniggered while he felt his old hatred boil to the surface.

"Why _father…_" he responded sarcastically and cold. "your language! Is that your thanks for being set free?"

Odin turned back to his oldest son. "Thor, whatever he told you, it is a lie! Seize him, seize that traitor!"

"Father…" Thor tried again. "Loki is the king!"

Odin turned quiet. "Don't you see, Thor! He tricked you!"

Thor smirked. "Yes he did… He tricked us all, father. Yet Loki has been king for six years now. A good king…"

"He is no king! Not as long as I do not crown him!" Odin bit back. He turned back to Loki. "You shall never be a king!" he shouted. "You! Are! No! Son of mine!"

Loki's eyes turned dark. "I'm glad we agree on one thing after all…" he sneered.

"Please, father…" Thor interrupted, but Odin shut him up.

"No! Let Loki speak! Let me hear what he has to say! Open this cell or are you afraid, son of Laufey!"

Loki's jaw tightened. He heard his friends freeze beside him, but no one asked any questions. His eyes locked on Odin's one furious eye.

"What is it now, Loki?" Odin asked wrathfully. "Nothing to say? Don't you dare to face this old man?"

Loki took a step forward and lifted his sceptre before planting it deep into the snow. A powerful shockwave spread over the ground. The bars, separating Odin from Loki crumbled down like sand. Once the dust had disappeared, Odin stepped further into the light, past his oldest son. His face was scarred by hatred and anger.

The Allfather stretched out his hand and Loki felt a strong pull around his waist. Before he could stop it, the Valkyrja Stone was ripped from the small pocket at his belt and shot through the air into Odin's palm. The old man inspected the stone. A wrathful frown appeared under his wild beard.

"The Valkyrja Stone!" he whispered before fixing his attention on his stepson once more. "Only a coward uses this!" he spit. "Too scared to take a life! Too weak!"

Loki's eyes darkened a couple of shades.

"Father!" Thor said while rushing to Odin's side. "Look at it! The Dark Elf Magic is gone! That's Loki's doing!"

Odin sniggered. "Is that what he made you believe, my son!"

The stone fell to the ground and Odin fixed his eye back on Loki. "How dare you…" he hissed. "How dare you take the throne as your own! You are no king! You never will be! You used and manipulated your friends, your family! You are not worthy of your title! You were not worthy of your mother's love!"

Odin stretched out his hand and magically pulled the golden sceptre from Loki's grasp. Once the steel touched his flesh, the Allfather regained his royal aspect. His bent back straightened up, his golden armour shone brighter than ever before and his usual aura of power returned.

"I won't make the same mistake as last time!" he roared. Loki smirked and opened his arms invitingly.

"Go ahead, _papa…_" he sneered.

"I, Odin Allfather, sentence you to death!" the Allfather shouted infuriated. "And I shall take the liberty of killing you myself!" he added in a creepy whisper. He lowered his sceptre and wanted to strike, but Loki was quick to act and created a powerful blast of Energy which pushed the Allfather back. Odin stumbled back and blindly attacked the circle of illusion Loki had put around him. After the last one had dissolved in the cold night air he turned to the real Loki and, by using his sceptre, fired a blinding flash of energy on the young king. Loki created a shield, but the blast was too strong. His shield burst into pieces and Loki was thrown back. His back painfully hit the wall, but the young king didn't have the time to recover for he immediately felt a strong grip close around his whole body. The magical grip tightened until he could barely breath. Loki desperately tried to free himself but it was in vain. He groaned, knowing the worst still had to come. He didn't need to wait long. Odin lifted his arm and moved Loki's body through the air before letting it smash hard on the ground again. Loki cried in agony when he felt a sharp rock bust through his armour and cut in his side.

"Stop!" a voice sounded. Arya jumped in between Odin and his stepson, but neither the old man, nor the young king was prepared to listen.

In a rage, Loki sucked an enormous portion of Energy from the air before blasting it in a fierce blast around his body. Odin's grip loosened and Loki managed to get on his feet again.

The young king didn't hesitate. He produced a flashing ball of Energy in between his palms and threw it in Odin's direction. The Allfather attacked at the same moment. The shockwave created by the collision of their magic threw Arya aside and the battle continued.

Loki fought harder and fiercer than ever before, throwing one blast of Energy after the other, but Odin cast them aside as if it was child's play. Every single one of his attacks pushed Loki further back. The young king felt his magic fail. He was losing and there was no way he could fight back. He'd known that from the start, but that didn't mean he wasn't any less scared. With every step he took backwards he felt the wall close in and his heart grow cold. He didn't want to die! Not here! Not now! And certainly not at the hand of Odin!

Loki readied another Energy wave, until his concentration was broken by a sudden rock behind him. The young king tripped and fell back. It would be his last mistake because Odin saw his chance and rushed forward. With the back of his sceptre he hit Loki hard on the head, which left the young king dazed and dizzy on the frozen ground.

Loki looked up through the tears that had formed in his eyes, thanks to the blow to his head. As through a haze he saw Odin tower above him, turning his sceptre with the blade down, ready to strike his stepson in the chest. Loki didn't want to... he didn't want that senile fool to enjoy this, but in his fear he closed his eyes and awaited the last attack.

"No!" a voice roared above him. A gust of wind and the sound of one metal hitting the other. Loki opened his eyes. Thor was standing beside him, holding Mjölnir above Loki's chest. Odin stared at his oldest son in disbelief.

"He has tricked your mind, Thor! Can't you see!"

"Father, please! Listen!" Thor shouted back. "I won't let you hurt Loki! I too have hated him for his crimes and I too shall not forgive him for everything that he has done, but that does not change the fact that he has been a good and right king!"

"I sentenced Loki to spend his life in prison! That you set him free without my approval is already a serious step over the line, but that he defiled your trust and betrayed me is unforgivable! Loki has had his chances! Now he has to pay! He should have done so a long time ago!" Odin raised his sceptre again and wanted to strike but another blade stopped him. Odin looked up and met the fierce emerald eyes of Arya.

The young Captain had never looked more hateful. "With all due respect, _sire_," she said darkly, "but you'll have to kill me first!"

Odin stared at the girl in front of him. "And who might you be?" he asked.

Arya, who never lowered her blade, stared back without fear. "Captain Arya, my lord!"

Odin smirked. "Did he give you that title?" he asked rudely. "What happened to _my _Captain?"

A flash of hurt darkened Arya's bright emerald eyes. "I serve king Loki, my lord. My father was the former Captain. He neglected his duties and claimed the throne as his own. It was Loki who stopped him. If it weren't for Loki, we would still be under the rule of my father."

Odin turned his sceptre to Arya now. "That is a lie!" he roared. "The Captain served me for many years!"

Arya stumbled backwards now that Odin's blade was turned on her. Although the fear started building up again, Arya refused to give in. "My father was a great man indeed, until he received a power he could not handle! That is something Loki understands!"

"Young girl…" Odin said silently while lowering his sceptre. "You are serving a liar! You think you know him? You think you can trust him?"

Arya nodded fiercely. "I do!" she said without hesitation.

Thor panicked and shared a quick glance with Loki who was starting to crawl back on his feet now that Odin's attention wasn't fixed on him any longer. Both he and his brother knew where this was going.

"There is a spell!" Loki shouted in an attempt to change the subject. "A spell that can only be done by the king of Asgard!"

Odin turned back to Loki. "What dark magic are you referring to?! I will not let you!"

Loki ignored him and continued. "It is an ancient spell. It dates from the very Beginning!"

Thor decided to take over while Jane slowly came closer. When Odin noticed her, he frowned.

"What is she doing here!" he asked, but Thor didn't answer. Instead he continued Loki's explanation.

"This spell contains the power to gain immortality. Father, the reason we… the reason Loki freed you today is that you could crown him king. The rightful king… If not, than we hoped you would cast the spell yourself."

Odin sniffed. "On who?" he barked. "On her? On the human?"

Thor had to do his very best to ignore Odin's rudeness. "And on my daughter…" he cautiously added.

Odin froze, but quickly recovered. He turned back to Loki.

"Spell or no spell! You still remain unpunished!" he roared while raising his sceptre once more. "Did you honestly think that I would crown you king!"

"Father, please! Give Loki a chance to prove himself!" Thor interrupted.

"The Asgardians respect him!" Jane suddenly joined in. "As do we all…"

But Odin was too angry to pay any attention. "No! It ends here!" he roared. Slowly he made his way back to Loki. The young king grinned widely.

"You can't blame me, _father_…" Loki sneered. "I only did what you taught me…"

"I took a leap of fate when I took you in!" Odin bit back. "I went against every basic instinct I had and brought you to Asgard."

Sif, the Warriors Three and Arya shared a confused glance. Odin continued.

"Frigga immediately loved you, so did I and so did Thor… Is this your gratitude? Is this what you do to the people who raised you, who saved you…"

"It was your own decision to take me in!" Loki shouted back. He didn't care anymore that there were people around who didn't know who and what he really was. Odin would tell them nonetheless. "It was your decision to lie!"

Odin was now standing right in front of Loki, his sceptre held dangerously close to the young king's throat. Yet Loki didn't move.

"And it was your decision to turn against us!" The Allfather responded in an angry whisper. Loki grinned wickedly.

"I wonder if you could…" he whispered back. "Go on then… Kill your adopted son!"

Odin's eyes turned dark.

"Father, stop!" Thor shouted. The God of Thunder pulled Loki away from his father. "You gave me a second chance when I strayed! Loki deserves a second chance as well…"

Odin seemed to consider his son's words. Everyone on the scene stared at the three men.

"Very well…" Odin finally said. He took a few steps back.

"Thor!" he said before gesturing that the blond prince had to step aside. After some hesitation, the God of Thunder left his spot in between his brother and his father and joined Jane at the side.

"What are you doing?" she asked him in a whisper. "He could kill him!"

Thor nodded almost invisibly. In the corner of his eye he could see Arya, Sif and The Warriors Three ready their weapons in case they had to intervene.

"I don't think he will…" Thor answered silently.

Odin turned to Loki and planted his sceptre next to him in the ground.

"For your crimes against Asgard and the nine realms, Midgard in particular, you shall be banished!"

"No!" Arya shouted, but Sif stopped her by putting a hand on the young Captain's shoulder. Jane frowned sadly. This was probably an even worse scenario for the young warrior.

Odin continued. Loki didn't move a muscle or showed any kind of emotion.

"I take from you…" the Allfather said while stretching out his hand, "your title and your power!"

Loki felt a sickening pull in his chest when his immortality was sucked from his body. Although the young king tried everything in his power to remain standing, the sudden loss of strength forced him to sink on his knees.

"In the name of my father, and his father before, I Odin Allfather cast you out to the frozen wasteland of Jotunheim."

Loki looked up in surprise.

_Jotunheim?_ he thought in fear.

Thor seemed to be thinking the same.

"Father, you can't!" he shouted, but the Allfather ignored him and slowly made his way to the kneeling form of Loki.

Against his will, Loki felt how his head was forced to look up into the cold eye of Odin. The Allfather placed his thumbs, index and middle finger on the young king's forehead. Loki had never felt more embarrassed, but an invisible power held him down and kept him from escaping.

"Now you can have what you so greatly desired: your birth right! Now you can rule your own world!"

Loki felt an ice cold shiver run from his forehead to rest of his body. The young king pulled away in fear. Odin took a step back and looked down on his stepson. No mercy was reflected in his eye.

A dangerously familiar feeling spread through the young king's limbs. Loki looked at his hands in panic and watched a cold blue creep over his skin.

"What…" he managed to say. "What did you…"

Thor watched his father in disbelief, yet his surprise was nothing compared to what the others were feeling. Sif and The Warriors Three all took a step back, their weapons instinctively raised in front of them.

Arya stood as stiff as a statue and stared with big green eyes to her king who slowly changed into his Frost Giant form.

Odin looked up from his stepson and turned to her. "Now you see, girl! He is not to be trusted!"

Thor looked around. His friends were clearly out of service. "Father! You cannot leave him here!" he shouted. "The Frost Giants have a price on his head! And he'll never survive!"

"You cannot… cannot do this!" Jane joined in with a shaking voice.

Loki looked up from his blue arms and tried to get to his feet, but this mortal body seemed to be a lot weaker than he was used too. With a lot of effort, the young king got to his feet.

"You shall pay for this!" he spit at Odin. Loki stretched out his arms in order to blast Odin to the other end of the universe, but nothing happened. Loki stared at his blue fingertips. He tried again and again and again.

Confused and terrified he stumbled backwards. The young king stared at his hands.

"No… no…" he whispered in fear and disbelief. "No… you… you took away…. You took away my magic!"

Odin didn't show any emotion. Loki started to panic. This couldn't be happening! He couldn't live without his magic! Not here! Not anywhere! He needed his magic! It was the only thing that gave him any strength at all, the last thing that connected him to his mother, the very thing that made him who he was: the God of Mischief.

"No… No…" he stuttered while his legs barely supported his weight. Loki's insides seemed to crumble down. He stared at his hands, his blue hands! Everything started turning. Loki's legs failed and the young king sank to the ground again, but he didn't care. He needed his magic! He needed his magic!

Voices started shouting around him, but the young king couldn't place them. The only thing he saw was his own cold blue skin while the frozen air slowly infiltrated his mortal, weak body. He needed his magic! He was nothing without it! He was _nobody_ without it!

"P…Please.." he suddenly heard himself say. A voice in his head warned him not to plead, not to beg! He was Loki, the God of Mischief, the king of Asgard! He didn't beg! And especially not to Odin! But Loki ignored it. All he couldn't think about was that he needed his magic back.

"Please…" he begged again.

-xxx-

Thor couldn't believe his eyes. Loki was begging on his knees! The others seemed to think the same thing.

"Father, you can't leave him here!" Thor shouted one more time, but his father ignored him.

"Please… I'll do whatever you want… please…" Loki pleaded again. The young king had tears in his eyes. His voice sounded hoarse and broken.

Arya, who slowly broke free from her trance felt her heart break. Loki seemed so lost…

"My lord!" she started with a trembling voice while she stepped closer to Odin. "As Captain I cannot agree with this! I demand you undo your punishment right now!"

Odin turned to Arya. His eye was filled with power, but above all anger. "Your services are no longer required, my lady! I hereby relief you of your duties as Captain!"

Arya's heart skipped a beat. Had he just said what he thought he'd said?

"Arya…" Sif's voice sounded. The lady warrior seemed pale and scared, but she put her hand on the young Captain's shoulder and tried to smile. "Leave it… Don't make it worse…"

Arya looked down on Loki, her eyes full of pity. Her heart broke into a million pieces when she realised what this meant. She wouldn't see Loki again. Not ever.

Tears welled up in the young Captain's emerald eyes.

"No… No…" she stumbled, but Sif pulled her back.

Odin turned to the others. "Anyone who tries to help Loki will be considered a traitor!" he roared wrathfully. "Heimdall! Open the Bifröst"

With that said he waved his sceptre backwards. Loki was thrown back. The shockwave crashed onto the cliff. The dark crack cracked further open to the top.

The last thing Arya saw before the Bifröst sucked her back to Asgard was how the cliff crushed down on the man she'd only just learned to love.

* * *

**If you experience a slight hate toward Odin, than that is completely normal. Just try to remember that I am just the writer... I am a person... Killing me will get you in jail... I'm really not worth it!**

**Please leave a comment, or anything else (except death threads... I don't like those...) ;p**

**Thanks!**

**Rumple x**


	53. Chapter 52

**Hi everyone! It's been a while... I'm currently enjoying my first extra post-university holiday and I am exceptionally lazy... ;)**

**ENJOY nonetheless!**

* * *

_**Chapter 52 **_

"Do you want to go to the gardens?"

Frigga shook her head. Her two friends, Bjorn and Brenna exchanged a look.

"The practise ground, maybe?" Bjorn tried again after a short silence, but his princess shook her head once more and kept her eyes fixed on the door. Prince the wolf set by her side.

Brenna walked over to the silent form of the little princess.

"I'm sure they'll come back, Frigga."

Frigga looked up. She was tired and scared. It was already midday and still she hadn't seen her parents. Had something happened on Jotunheim? Were they all right? Had Loki succeeded?

The worst was that Frigga couldn't tell her friends about why her parents had _really_ left. No one was allowed to know of what had happened on Jotunheim that night.

"Yeah… sure…" she answered silently before turning to the door again.

Suddenly the front door opened. Prince looked up and barked a few times. Frigga jumped on her feet and rushed forward, but only met the kind face of Eira, Bjorn and Brenna's mother. She worked as a healer in the infirmary.

"Have you seen my parents!" Frigga immediately asked. "Or Loki? Have you seen Loki? And Arya?"

Eira looked at the girl in surprise, but quickly smiled. "No, Frigga… I haven't but…"

"If something happened… if they are in the infirmary… I demand to know!" Frigga shouted angrily. Eira blinked confusedly. Frigga had always been such a kind and sweet girl. This kind of rudeness was new… Yet, then again, she understood her fear of course. And she was the princess…

"My lady," Eira said. "I swear they are not in the infirmary… "

Frigga seemed to calm down for a second until she understood that this could mean that no one had returned to Asgard yet.

"But… but… do you know whether they _are_ back?" she asked while the tears stared to form in her bright blue eyes.

Eira kneeled down and put a comforting hand on the little girl's shoulder.

"Frigga, I am certain your parents are alright… it was only a short visit to Midgard after all. They will return soon enough…"

Just when Frigga wanted to shout something in return, a loud knock sounded through the room. Prince barked again and jumped up against the door. Frigga went silent and Eira turned back to the door. She smiled and dried Frigga's tears.

"Maybe that's them already!"

Frigga nodded and watched Eira open the door while her wolf curled himself around her leg, looking up with his big blue eyes as if he expected a treat.

"Hi Eira, I'm sorry it took so long. Thank you for loo…"

"Mummy!" Frigga cried while she threw her arms around Jane's legs.

Jane smiled softly and took her daughter in her arms while Prince barked excitedly. Frigga had never felt more relieved.

Eira smiled. "Frigga was a little worried about your wellbeing, my lady…" she explained.

Jane laughed and tried to make eye contact with her daughter, but Frigga had buried her face in her mother's shoulder and didn't look up. "Why Frigga…" Jane said with a fake smile. "You shouldn't have!"

Eira frowned when she took a better look at Jane's face.

"My lady!" she exclaimed. "You look rather cold. I'll fetch you a warm cup of milk…"

"No, no, not necessary!" Jane quickly said, making the worried healer stop in her tracks. "Thank you Eira, but that won't be necessary…" she added.

The healer nodded and smiled. "All right, my lady…" She turned towards her twins and gestured to Jane and Frigga.

"Well then, where're your manners? Say goodbye to princess Frigga!"

The two seemed to snap out of a trance and quickly made their way towards Jane and Frigga. Jane tried to get her daughter's attention.

Brenna licked her lips. "Bye bye, Frigga… it was fun playing with you!" she said awkwardly.

Bjorn fiercely nodded. "Yeah!" he added.

Jane smiled to the twins and turned to her daughter who was still refusing to look up.

"Frigga! Don't you have something to say as well?"

Eira smiled and shook her head. "That's not necessary, my lady!"

"No, no! It is necessary!" Jane said sternly. "Even a princess has manners! Frigga!"

The little girl finally looked up. Her mother threw her a meaningful look and lowered her daughter to the ground. Frigga turned around, slightly embarrassed. "Bye, guys… I had a lot of fun…"

The three kids stared at each other for a second. Without warning Frigga suddenly rushed forward and threw her arms around her friends' necks. The twins froze.

"Thank you for playing with me!" Frigga said with smile. Bjorn looked at his sister. They grinned widely and both closed an arm around Frigga as well.

The two mother's watched the tiny group hug for a couple of seconds.

Frigga softy let go and smiled. Her friends smiled back. Prince jumped up against the twins' legs and licked their hands.

"Goodbye to you too, Prince!" Bjorn said while scratching the wolf behind his ear.

"Frigga, it's time to go now!" Jane announced. The little princess nodded and took her mother's hand.

"Bye bye Brenna, bye bye Bjorn… thank you for letting me stay, miss!" she said before leaving the room. Prince barked one more time before Jane closed the door behind them.

Frigga had never felt better. She was practically jumping up and down next to her mother while Prince ran around them.

"Mummy! Did you find my grandpa?"

Jane swallowed. "Frigga, sweetheart, there is something you need to know first…" she said in a broken voice. Frigga immediately stopped smiling. Something was wrong, very wrong…

Jane didn't say another word until they reached their chambers. She opened the door and let Frigga and Prince enter first before closing the door again. Prince immediately ran to Frigga's bedroom where he curled himself up under her blanket.

Frigga watched her mother walk over to the couch. Apart from them, there was no one in the room. Jane sank down on the couch and sighed. She hadn't slept all night and craved to go to sleep, but she knew she had to tell Frigga the news first. She would find out sooner or later…

"Mummy?" Frigga carefully asked. "What's wrong…"

Just at that moment the front door swung open and Thor came marching in. With a mighty swing, he closed the door and dropped Mjölnir next to it.

"He won't listen! Not to me! Not to anyone! This is madness!" he roared furiously. Jane looked up.

"Thor!" she shouted while gesturing to Frigga who watched both of her parents with a weird kind of fear in her bright blue eyes.

The God of Thunder seemed to calm down a bit. He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "Oh no…" he whispered. Frigga swallowed. And looked at her mother for some explanation.

"Did you already tell her?" Thor asked. Jane shook her head.

"I was just about to…" she answered silently.

Thor sighed once more.

"Wha… what? Tell me what?" she asked, not able to hide the fear in her voice.

Thor walked over to the couch and gestured to Frigga to sit down.

"Look, sweetheart…" he started in a broken voice, "this will be hard to understand, but…"

Frigga's eyes grew big while a million catastrophic scenarios raced through her head.

Jane saw the danger and immediately interrupted. "No one got hurt, sweetie… well…"

Thor and Jane shared a look. "Let's say no one got… killed…." Jane corrected herself.

Frigga relaxed a little bit, but her hands were still clenched around the cushions of the couch.

Thor cleared his throat. "We brought… found Odin back…" he started. "But my father wasn't pleased with certain… aspects…"

Jane sighed and took over. "As we told you, Loki isn't the _real _king of Asgard. He needed to be crowned by Odin. The Allfather wasn't happy when he heard what Loki had done…"

"But.. but…" Frigga stuttered. He face had turned pale as ice. "Loki is a good king! Grandpa can't have any problems with that, right?"

"Err… Well… It's not that simple, Frigga…" Thor answered. "Loki has done some bad things in the past for which he was punished, but he escaped from his punishment."

"But he is a good king!" Frigga repeated, more angrily now.

"Yes, yes, of course he is… but…" Thor tried, but his voice got stuck in his throat.

Jane took a deep breath. "Odin banished Loki to Jotunheim, Frigga…" she said a lot stronger than she felt. "That means that… that…"

Thor watched his daughter turn even paler. Jane's voice died.

"That means…" Thor took over, "that you won't see Loki again…"

A deep and dark silence fell over the room. Frigga stared at her parents in horror. Slowly she started to shake her head.

"N… n… no…" she whispered in a hoarse voice. "No…"

Thor and Jane shared a look of pure sadness.

"Frigga…" Thor tried. "You have to understand that my father is blinded by grieve and hatred…"

But Frigga wasn't listening. She shook her head harder and harder.

"Frigga..." Jane tried softly.

"NO!" Frigga shouted furiously, making her parents both jump a foot in the air. Without warning Frigga jumped of the couch and ran for the door while her tears started flowing. From her room sounded a loud bark when Prince ran for his mistress.

Frigga opened the door and raced in the hallway with Prince in her wake.

"FRIGGA!" Jane called out, but it was in vain. Her daughter was gone. Thor cursed under his breath and started the pursuit.

"FRIGGA!" he roared to the sprinting silhouette at the end of the hall, but the little princess didn't look back.

Frigga had never run faster. The last time she'd felt this strong was when she'd escaped from that bus in New York. Her legs were moving faster and faster and Prince was sprinting next to her without any problem to keep up.

Behind her, she could hear her father getting closer. She knew he would catch up with her.

_Oh Prince…_ she thought in despair. _Please help me!_

To her surprise, the silver wolf barked and turned around. All Thor saw was a white shadow coming his way before he painfully hit the ground.

"FRIGGA!" he shouted again while trying to get on his feet again, but the little girl had already disappeared around the corner.

Frigga kept running, while Prince appeared at her side again. There was only one place she wanted to go now.

-xxx-

Loki groaned while trying to move his limbs. It was cold, very cold… Everywhere. Every now and then, a crackling sound of breaking stones and ice would cut through the silence. The young king opened his eyes, but saw nothing but a pitch black darkness. Again he tried to move. His arm came loose, but his other seemed stuck. Loki pulled as hard as he could, ignoring the painful stabs everywhere in his body. Finally his other arm came lose. A loud crunching sound echoed through the valley when the rocks started moving again. Loki covered his head with his arms, fearful for the falling rocks. When it finally stopped, Loki carefully opened his eyes.

Light… he could see light! Soft, dim and cold, but it was light. The young king sighed in relief. He tried to moved again, but his mortal body was weak and frozen.

"Damn it!" Loki hissed out of breath while his teeth chattered uncontrollably. He took a look around. The young king was surrounded by broken rock and ice, but high above him a small gap showed him the dark starry night. Loki took a deep shaky breath. He needed to think!

_Calm down!_ he ordered his fast beating heart. Slowly the sickening clasp of fear died.

_All right… _Loki thought. _I'm on Jotunheim… no need to panic… I'm banished…. No need to panic! I'm mortal… No need to panic…_

Loki breathed in and breathed out in the cold night air. _No need to panic… _he kept telling himself. _Let us focus on the good things…_

The young king sniggered. "Well…" he said to himself. "At least I'm alive…"

For a couple of minutes he stared up at the tiny gap towards the stars.

"Let's first get out of here…" Loki whispered. Carefully, he tried to move again. His legs were stuck in between the rocks. The young king looked around. One stone wrongly moved could result in a most uncomfortable of deaths. He was already lucky to not be crushed. If only he'd had his magic… then he would be out of here in no time. Loki swallowed. No magic…

_No!_ he thought while shaking his head. _I won't let that imbecile have the privilege of watching me die! _

Carefully, Loki tried to move a couple of icy rocks that were covering his legs. Every time his eyes crossed his blue skin, a cold shiver ran down his spine. For at least five minutes everything went well. His right leg finally came loose, but when he tried to turn and get a better grip on the rocks, Loki lost his balance and moved a couple of stones behind him.

"Damn…" he said, just before the whole mass started to slide down. The young king covered his face and fell back. A painful stab cut through his left leg, but Loki didn't have time to pay too much attention to it. The light disappeared and deep darkness surrounded the young king while he tossed and turned and got dragged down by the falling rocks. When it finally stopped and silence fell over the young king, Loki carefully opened his eyes again. He tried to move. Right arm, left arm… everything seemed to work. Right leg, left leg…. A soft, yet painful stab shot through Loki's body. He groaned. The young king blinked a few times to make his eyes adjust to the darkness. Carefully he tried to get to his knees. It seemed as if most of the rocks around him had disappeared. Loki looked up, but saw noting. Suddenly he felt a small rock fall on his face. It fell to the ground and the sound echoed through the dark.

_Echo…_ Loki thought while a spark of hope filled his being. _ That means there's a space around me…_

Cautiously Loki tried to move thought the darkness. He managed to crawl for about two meters before he met an icy wall.

_I must be in an underground cave…_ Loki thought. Perhaps it opened up when the crack had cut through the cliff. Loki groaned. Whatever entrance had seen the light, it had surely been closed off again by the rocks.

Loki looked up again. Cautiously he reached up, but his hand almost immediately touched the ceiling. Loki cursed under his breath. His situation would be a lot better if it hadn't been so cold. His whole body was frozen to the bone. Loki rubbed his hands together and blew in his palms. With his fingers he searched the ground for small rocks, which luckily wasn't that hard. When he had a handful he turned his back to the wall and threw one of the pebble stones through the darkness. First he heard nothing, until the stone finally hit the ground.

Loki smiled. This cave had to be a lot longer than he'd initially thought. Perhaps, he could find another way out of here. Slowly he started crawling in the same direction as the stone. Every now and then he would throw a new rock to check the path ahead.

After what seemed like hours Loki finally saw something at the end of the dark cave. Light… a soft light, but it was light! He started crawling a bit faster now that he could see where he was going. When he reached the end of the tunnel, he looked up and saw the source of the light. High above him, about five meters he saw a hole in what he presumed was the ground of Jotunheim.

Loki groaned. He would have to climb, but he wasn't certain that his frozen fingers would work at his , at least he could stand up now…

Loki stretched his legs and inspected his ankle which had been hurting ever since his journey down. It didn't seem so bad. He'd sprained it at most, but it could be a problem for the climb. Loki looked up once more, while he blew warm breath into the palms of his frozen hands. The walls were pretty close together. He would probably be able to use both to get up there.

And so, after he'd defrosted his fingers, Loki started to climb. The first three meters were relatively easy, but after that the wall became to smooth. Loki looked at his belt. All he had were his daggers, but that was quite enough. With all his might, Loki thrusted a dagger deep inside the wall. Carefully he tried to make his way up, but since he barely had any place to rest his one working foot, that was quite a challenge.

Finally Loki reached the edge. Trembling of both fear and cold he drew himself onto the icy ground. With his feet still dangling down the hole he fell down on his back and breathed out.

He. Was. So. Cold! The young king looked up. The sky was starting to turn light blue. Dawn was coming.

Slowly and with a lot of effort, Loki pushed himself on his feet. He took a good look around. He was standing on an icy plain. For miles he couldn't see any cliff or mountain. The only thing that cut through the perfect horizon was a weird two pinned building. Loki groaned. It was Laufey's palace, or at least what was left of it. He was way too close to the Frost Giant stronghold! And the Jotuns had a beautiful price on his head for killing their king. Loki stumbled back. He needed to find shelter from the cold wind, otherwise he wouldn't last long. So the young king turned his back to the palace and the Jotun city and made his way over the plain as fast as his painful ankle and his frozen limbs allowed it.

After hours of walking Loki saw something in the distance, but his exhausted mind had trouble identifying it. Loki stumbled a bit forward and let his eyes focus.

Laufey's palace… Loki sighed in despair. He was walking in circles! This white endless plain was driving him mad and the constant freezing breeze covered his tracks.

Loki sank down. He was so tired! The young king looked up, knowing that Heimdall could see him.

Loki smiled softly. "Heimdall…" he started in a hoarse voice. "Would you be so kind to open the Bifröst?" he asked sarcastically. Of course nothing happened.

Loki sighed. The wind around him started to increase in strength. More snow was blown into the young king's already frozen face.

Loki looked up. In the distance he could see a blizzard coming closer.

"Oh, that's just evil…" Loki groaned just before the storm took hit. The young king was blasted on his back by the sudden impact of one of Jotenheim's infamous blizzards. Loki closed his eyes, to keep the cutting snowflakes from hurting his eyeballs.

_This is hopeless!_ Loki thought in despair. There was no way he would get out of this storm alive.

_So that's it than… _Loki thought while the snow started covering his legs. _This is how it ends. I freeze to death…_

-xxx-

Frigga ran an ran and ran… faster than she'd ever run before while Prince loyally galloped at her side. Without hesitation, Frigga sprinted inside the throne room. Before anyone got the chance to stop her, say something or even wonder what she was doing, the little girl came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs leading to the throne where Odin set, talking to his advisors. It was the first time, Frigga ever laid eyes on her _real_ grandfather, but she couldn't care less. All she felt was an incredible anger towards the old man. How could he take Loki away from her like that!

"You bring Loki back!" she yelled with all her might. "Now!"

Odin looked up from his conversation and frowned in confusion. Under normal circumstances, Frigga's rude behaviour would have been her immediate ticket to jail, but The Allfather was taken by surprise.

"Excuse me, child!" he said sternly. "But who do you think you are?"

Frigga felt her magic rage through and around her body. She looked up. Her bright blue eyes locked on the Allfather's. She straightened her back and clenched her fists. Prince softly howled, but quickly shut up and set down at his mistresses feet. The Energy around Frigga's body started swirling, creating a soft breeze which played with Frigga's golden locks, while a soft silver glow surrounded the young princess's body.

Odin's eyes narrowed. The Allfather grabbed his sceptre and laboriously got to his feet.

"I am Frigga! Princess of Asgard!" Frigga answered angrily while the silver glow intensified. "And I demand you bring Loki back!"

The Allfather's mouth dropped. For a second he stared at the child in front of him, now realising he was speaking to his grandchild. Silence filled the room and Frigga slowly calmed down. The light dimmed again and the breeze dropped.

Frigga started to feel nervous. Suddenly her angry and dramatic entry didn't seem as such a good idea any more. The Allfather looked down on her with a weird kind of look in his eyes. Was he angry? Was he surprised? Frigga couldn't tell…

After what seemed ages, Odin finally opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted. Thor and Jane came rushing in the throne room.

"Frigga!" Jane shouted angrily while taken her daughter's shoulder. "What were you thinking!"

Thor looked up at his father. "Father, please, she didn't mean to be impolite."

But Odin didn't seem too upset about the matter. He slowly descended the stairs. Frigga took a few steps back until she found her mother's legs. Jane protectively put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, while Prince decided to jump in between Frigga and the Allfather.

When he'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Odin's eyes slowly fixed on his son.

"I take this is your beautiful daughter you told me about, my son…" he said softly, without emotion. Thor nodded almost invisibly.

"She didn't mean to…" but Odin silence the God of Thunder with a simple gesture of his hand. His eyes fixed on the little girl and scanned her from top to bottom. Frigga swallowed. Prince growled, but Odin ignored him.

"I am certain your father taught you that courtesy and respect are very important in these halls of Asgard, child," he said in a low voice. Frigga didn't fully understand what Odin was saying – why did Asgardians use so many difficult words? - but she got the picture.

"I am the princess!" Frigga answered a lot more confident than she felt.

"Yes, and I am the king!" Odin responded calmly.

Frigga scowled. "Loki is the king!" she shouted angrily. Prince barked in agreement. Odin's eyes turned dark and for a second it seemed as if the Allfather had lost his patience with his grandchild. Yet, just like that, his emotionless and calm expression returned.

"The one you speak off has no place in this realm, in these halls and especially not on the throne! He was never a king! Not by birth right, nor by choice. He has deceived us all and will endure his punishment!"

"But you can't banish Loki!" Frigga called out in frustration. "He… he's my uncle… He's like a big brother to me!"

Odin smirked slightly. "He was not connected by blood or marriage! The prince of Jotunheim was not your family, child!"

Frigga's eyes locked on the floor. Big tears started to blur her view. Why was Odin so cruel? Her father had always spoken of him as a great man! Right now, Frigga absolutely agreed with Loki's description. Frigga smirked when a sudden wave of pure confidence, combined with a good portion of stupid bravery filled her heart. She looked up and dried her eyes.

"When I first met Loki, he was disguised as you! To not be a part of your family, he had an incredibly good idea of how to pretend to be you!"

"Frigga!" Thor shouted angrily, but his daughter didn't stop. Instead she ripped herself from her mother's grip and took a few steps forward until she stood right in front of The Allfather.

"He couldn't remember my name, just like you! But at least he was friendly and kind and funny! Loki could do amazing things! He was nice to me, even though he didn't have to! He saved my sandcastle! And he saved me too! You're nothing like him! You're mean! Loki is a far better king than you!"

Odin's expression didn't change. He looked down on the little girl who was staring up at him with a familiar kind of confidence and supremacy.

"This traitor – because that is what he was – has only deceived you! He played you like so many others! Do not believe that you are the first to be misled. He has hurt me in the past, scarred me there where it burned most. You better accept this as true, child…"

Frigga's eyes flashed dark for a second.

"My name is Frigga!" she shouted while a new wave of magic warmed her body. "And you are wrong! I want Loki back! NOW!"

With her last word, Frigga clenched her fists, allowing a thin silver shockwave to form around her body. The magic was far from strong enough to actually do any harm, but Odin, Thor and Jane all stumbled backwards on impact.

Thor immediately rushed forward and only just avoided his father from falling backwards on the stairs.

Jane quickly grabbed her daughter's shoulder and pulled her back while ignoring the strong energetic aura around her.

"That's enough, Frigga!" she shouted, not able to hide the fear in her voice.

Odin had finally lost his patience. With the help of his son, he got to his feet and planted his sceptre hard on the ground. The metal sound echoed through the golden throne room.

"Father…" Thor tried, but Odin wasn't prepared to listen. For a second, The Allfather locked his cold eye on Frigga who immediately understood that she had gone too far. The Allfather scanned the room, before walking back up the stairs, hitting the steps with his sceptre.

When he reached his throne, he turned around again to face the room.

"Let this be clear!" he roared. "From now on, the traitor's name shall not be mentioned in these halls! He committed crimes for which he is punished! Anyone who ignores my command shall suffer the same consequences!"

The whole room turned silent. Frigga stared up in disbelief at the man she was ashamed of calling her grandfather. Without saying another word, the little girl turned around and ran out the room with Prince following in her wake.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Furthermore I would like to thank everyone who reviewed! I got so many different point of views on the current state of my story, especially on Odin! It's amazing! This is exactly what I was hoping for! You guys rock! So thank you!**

**Secondly, I wanted to let you know that university will start soon. This is something entirely new to me and I'll have to get used to a different and new way of studying. I don't know how this will effect my fanfiction, but I certainly won't forget you guys!**

**Rumple x**


	54. Chapter 53

**Hi everyone! So University started and I'm really busy, but I like writing, so... **

**Here you go!**

**ENJOY**

* * *

_**Chapter 53**_

An strange pounding drifted with the strong wind to Loki's senses. The young king frowned, but his tired mind wasn't capable of identifying the noise. He just lay on the icy plain, eyes closed, while the snow carelessly covered his frozen and limp body. There it was again… it almost seemed to come from beneath him… from the ground. Soft, low thuds in an irregular order.

A rustle… rocks being moved…

_Perhaps the storm is carrying pebbles… _Loki thought, yet another voice, pushed away to the deepest and darkest areas of his conscience tried warning him to investigate further.

_Why? _Loki though with a sigh. _It's not like it will matter… when I'm dead!_

More pounding, another rustle, this time closer… A new sound filled the air like a whisper in the wind.

Loki wanted to open his eyes, but his body didn't obey, so he gave up.

Another thud, loud and clear… Snow was being scraped off the plain… The sound of metal… the sound of breath…

The young king's mind barely had the time to draw the logical conclusion.

No more thuds, no more scraping… The cold sunbeams lost track of his frozen form when three enormous shadows cast their darkness over the young king.

A low chuckle… a loud sniff…

_Damn… _Loki thought while he finally managed to open his eyes. Staring down on him, were three towering Frost Giants.

Loki wanted to sigh. _I prefer dying…_ he thought desperately. What were the chances of finding him while he was still alive! Five more minutes and he would have been dead!

One of the Frost Giants twitched his lips in what Loki presumed was an evil grin.

"Look who decided to give us the honour of a visit…" he sneered.

The second Frost Giant, who turned out to be female, sniggered. "And how thoughtful of _his highness_ to dress up in the right colours…"

The third and longest of the lot rolled his dark red eyes and hit both of his companions hard on the head. The two stepped back, growling hatefully, but the look they got from their leader shut them up.

"Enough playing around!" the longest bit back. "We'll take him with us before he freezes to death!"

The leader stepped over Loki's almost covered body and started walking in the direction of the Frost Giants' stronghold. The two others kneeled down and both grabbed one of Loki's arms to drag him to his feet. No matter how hard Loki tried, his body wouldn't obey his orders. He couldn't do anything but let the three Frost Giants draw him towards a fate worse than death.

_Please die… please die…_ Loki thought on the rhythm of the Giants' steps. Nevertheless, the young king couldn't help but smile. After all, with a little bit of luck, the Jötuns would just kill him anyway, but Loki doubted that it would be that easy. The Frost Giants weren't known as the most "humane" creatures, even when it came to prosecution. Ironically, Asgard was partly responsible for that. Since the Jötuns had been defeated and the source of their power was taken, they were left isolated and as good as powerless. No wonder they got bored. According to the agreement Odin and Laufey had signed, every being, but Odin himself of course, setting foot on Jotenheim without their permission belonged to them and was their prisoner. Of course in the past, Odin had always been there to save Loki and his friends… now the young king didn't have that luxury. Right now, Loki was experiencing the worst scenario possible. He _officially_ belonged to the Jötuns and they were free to do with him whatever they desired. Yet, besides that, the Frost Giants had a big price on his head. Loki was quite sure that they had some exceptionally entertaining plans for the killer of their king.

A dark shadow suddenly fell of the four lonely figures on the icy plain. Loki forced himself to look up when they passed the stately form of Laufey's palace. It almost looked like a hungry horned animal, looking over Jotenheim for lost souls.

And just like that, Loki found himself in the remains of the Jötun stronghold. Everywhere he looked, dark figures appeared from the shadows, their red eyes glistening with revenge. The young king had never felt more embarrassed. He was the king of Asgard! And now these savages all watched him in his weakest form.

The leader turned and followed the only remains of what once had been the road leading towards the palace. Loki closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do. His body was weak and fragile, he had no magic, he was defenceless.

His two captures came to a brisk halt and dropped Loki on the ground. The young king slumped into a pile on the cold floor. Soft voices, evil snarls and laughter sounded around him.

Loki bit his lip. _No!_ he shouted to himself, infuriated by his own surrender. _ I won't lose myself! I will die standing!_

With a lot of effort Loki managed to push himself onto his feet. His frozen body ached and cried for mercy, but Loki refused to give in. His thoughts lingered back to Asgard. To Frigga and her beautiful smile. He thought about her eternal faith in him. Standing tall was the least he could do for her. Thus Loki smiled challengingly and refused to show any kind of fear. He would welcome his fate with open arms. Nothing could be worse than what he'd already been through.

The sounds faded and all the Frost Giants present bowed their heads. High above him, on a small podium, in between two enormous pillars, stood a vast throne, completely made out of blue ice. From behind it, appeared another Frost Giant.

The leader of the group that had brought Loki to the palace turned around to face Loki. His ruby eyes glistened with rage. He clenched his right fist. With a cracking sound, a thick column of ice grew down his arm.

"Bow to the Queen, Asgardian!" he spit furiously. Before Loki could do anything, the Jotun smacked his icy fist across the young king's stomach. Loki cried out when his mortal body collapsed on the ground.

_Queen? _he thought, until it struck him. The young king rubbed his stomach and chuckled. This was almost too good to be true… _Of course…_

With a smug grin playing on his lips, the young king rose back on his feet and locked his eyes on the Frost Giant currently standing in front of the throne. He had to find out how much the Jötuns knew.

"Your Highness…" he greeted sarcastically.

The female Jötun squeezed her ruby eyes to a minimum.

"Loki! Son of Odin!" she called out. "Word has come to me that your father banned you to my world!"

Loki scowled. How could she know this so soon? Probably Odin's doing…

The young king placed his most charming smile on his lips. "I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding, Your Highness…"

"Silence!" the Queen shouted. "I know who you are, trickster! Your lies will not deceive me! You are a murderer! With or without a misunderstanding! You belong to us!"

Loki frowned in fake confusion. "A murderer, My Leach?" he asked innocently. "Such harsh words for a beautiful lady like yourself!"

The Queen didn't seem too impressed by Loki's flattering. A sudden grin appeared on her grey face.

"A murderer indeed!" she responded while an exciting twinkle lit up her ruby eyes. "And not just any murderer! You slaughtered King Laufey! You misled him, killed him in cold blooded murder and attempted to destroy our realm!"

The whole room went silent and Loki got the uncomfortable feeling that the Queen knew something. Something precious, yet unspoken. Loki swallowed, but refused to break his determined smile. He would have the last laugh!

"I have to admit…" Loki answered wickedly while taking a step closer. "That sure sounds like me… A criminal of promises. A criminal of lies. But you know about all that…" Loki smiled shortly. For an instant his red Jotun eyes seemed to light up until his face hardened into a smug yet serious smirk. He locked his gaze once more with the Queen's.

"Don't you… Mother…"

-xxx-

Arya blinked away her tears for the millionth time that day while she carefully stuffed her beautiful gown, only meant for special occasions, into the big bag resting on her bed. The young warrior let her eyes slowly glide over the green fabric of her dress. She'd worn it that night… on Frigga's birthday party. That one moment she'd completely blew her chances – if she'd ever had any – with Loki. She'd always found that this dress suited her like non other and it perfectly matched her green eyes. A simple long gown, with no fabric to cover her shoulders. Not to flashy, not to dark… Just perfect. Would Loki have noticed her wearing it? Did he like it? Did he think her… beautiful?

New tears formed in Arya's emerald eyes. Again that same cold stab that had tortured her ever since she'd left Jotenheim, cut through her heart. Warm salty drops fell from her closed eyelids onto the back of her clenched fists, her fingers buried deep in the fabric of the dress.

_Stop being so pathetic! _she thought to herself while turning around to fetch the next pair of clothes. Yet she allowed her tears to flow and blur her view. Why deny her heartache?

Since Odin had fired her as Captain, Arya was no longer allowed to remain in her chambers in the palace. By the end of the day she needed to leave. The servants of the palace had offered to do the packing for her, but Arya preferred to do it herself. If only to keep busy…

The front door of Arya's chambers bust open and a silver shadow rushed in. Before Arya got a chance to be surprised, she stumbled backwards by the impact of someone running into her and two arms closing around her back. High pitched sobs sounded through the room. The young warrior looked down and found the trembling form of Frigga in a desperate search for comfort. Her golden locks seemed to float a few inches from her body as if someone had just rubbed a balloon over her head.

"F… Frigga?" Arya stumbled in a broken voice. The young princess only tightened her grip in response. Arya carefully closed her arms around her, wondering what the weird prickling sensation was she felt all over her body like electricity, until she noticed the soft silver glow surrounding Frigga's features.

_Magic…_ Arya thought with both admiration and sadness at the memory of Loki. She never imagined magic energy would feel this pleasant.

The young warrior quickly stroke her fingers over her face to clean off her own tears before focusing on the little girl in front of her.

"Frigga?" she asked. "What's the matter girl?"

The young princess looked up. Her face was covered in tears.

"L… Lo… Loki!" she cried out. "He took Loki away!"

Arya felt the broken pieces of her heart crush under Frigga's words. So she knew already…

The young warrior swallowed. "I know… " she said while fighting off her grief.

"I want him back!" Frigga added while burying her face in Arya's clothes.

Arya softly nodded while stroking Frigga's hair. "Me too…" she whispered before she could stop herself. The two stayed silent for a couple of seconds until Frigga's almost hysterical sobs slowed down and her shoulders stopped trembling. The young princess looked up. "Why didn't you stop him?" she asked in a broken whisper. Arya looked down and opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. She'd been asking herself the same question all day.

Frigga curled her fingers in the back of Arya's black shirt, knowing it was unfair of her to ask this. Suddenly her eye fell on the bag on the bed.

"Arya you leaving?" she asked in horror. The little girl looked up, her bright blue eyes showing nothing but pure terror. Arya couldn't be leaving her as well!

Arya looked around her room. After some hesitation she led Frigga to the bed, set down and took the little girl on her lap. With a careful hand she dried the girl's tears.

"I won't be the Captain any longer, Frigga…" she explained, while trying to keep her voice steady. "I have to leave the palace, but that doesn't mean I won't see you again. We can still play every day!"

Frigga locked her bright blue eyes on Arya's emerald ones. "But… but… who will be the Captain then?" she asked.

Arya smiled softly. "Odin appointed your father as Captain again…"

Frigga shook her head. "But daddy doesn't want to be Captain!" she shouted angrily.

"Perhaps The Allfather will change his mind in time. We'll have to wait…"

"But why can't you be the Captain anymore?" Frigga asked.

Arya bid her lip. "It's complicated, Frigga…" she finally admitted.

Frigga looked down while an angry scowl covered her wet face. "It's always complicated!" she muttered.

Arya closed her arms around the little girl and hugged her tightly. For a couple of seconds she remained in that position, allowing a few lonely tears to drip on Frigga's head.

"Things will turn out fine in the end, Frigga…" Arya whispered, although she seriously doubted her own optimism.

The young princess looked up while fresh tears welled up in her bright eyes like diamonds against the blue sky. "I… I… I just… I just want Loki back…" she stammered while the soft silver glow around her body dimmed until it had disappeared in the air. Her hair fell back on her trembling shoulders and the blissful tingling of the magic faded. Suddenly the room felt a lot colder and darker than it had done before.

Arya drew a shaky breath while she desperately searched for an answer that would bring back that gorgeous smile on the young princess's face.

"You think we'll ever see Loki again?" Frigga asked in a broken whisper.

Deep within her broken heart, Arya felt a warm sparkle of hope burning in the darkness. There was nothing in the nine worlds she wanted more right now. And although every logical sense proved her wrong, Arya smiled.

"Of course we will…" she said, blasting every last bit of love and hope she held into her words. "You'll see…"

-xxx-

A deep, heavy silence fell over the throne room. Loki, never losing his cool, stared up while a smirk played on his lips. The Queen, Farbauti, wife of Laufey, didn't move a muscle. Emotionless she stared down on the young king. Loki waited, his impatience growing with the second. Why didn't she respond? Did she already know? Or had he managed to surprise her… If he had, he could have a chance to talk his way out of this! The rest of the room had grown in a startled silence, all looking at OR Loki, OR their queen, waiting for an answer. After what seemed ages, a small grin formed on the lips of Farbauti, yet still Loki couldn't derive her potential knowledge. This woman was good… perhaps he'd inherited his master skills from her. The young king waited… His body felt frozen to the core, his blood was running cold. A fear he'd never felt before crept through his fast beating heart. Was this how he made people feel when he skilfully hid his carts, only allowing people enough information to keep them happy, but not enough to please them?

Rule number one of a professional trickster: always be the smartest guy in the room!

_Failed… _Loki thought in cold despair while Farbauti's ruby eyes pierced into his very soul. _Drastically… _he added in thought.

"So you know…" Farbauti finally said. Her cold voice cut like a blade through the silence and almost made Loki spontaneously take a step back. The young king felt his heart stop. For a second he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't speak. His last spark of hope had been demolished in front of his eyes. _She knew!_

Farbauti slowly arose from her throne, clearly enjoying the silent surrender Loki broadcasted through the look of terror on his face. Her face sunk into a hateful scowl.

"_Rakki_, I called you! Rakki, son of Laufey! A disgrace!"

Loki swallowed and quickly forced his serious scowl back on his face. He wouldn't just let her win like this, although he couldn't help but grimace in irritation when he heard his true name. _Rakki _was old Norse for "dog". Clearly he hadn't been a blessing to her…

"Small… weak… " Farbauti continued, spitting out every word as if they were poisonous.

The room turned to their Queen, obviously hearing this information for the first time, but Loki did not enjoy their surprise. He had to think, and quick!

Farbauti smirked and gestured towards Loki. "My friends!" she called out. "Your _prince_ has come home!"

The Jotun Queen let her words echo through the room, before letting out a short snigger. As if commanded, all the Frost Giants in the throne room started laughing hysterically. Evil, cold sounds, cutting through Loki's senses like the loud barks of a dog, or the frightening howls of wolfs in the dark of the night.

Farbauti grinned and slowly started descending from her throne. There were no stairs leading up, so with every step she took into mid-air, a plate of ice would appear to support her weight and disappear the moment her foot had left the smooth surface. The room went silent once more.

"Laufey never knew…" she said in a loud whisper. "Born in the rage of war… I couldn't hand him a weak and puny successor like you!"

For some reason Loki felt a stab of pain cutting through his frozen heart. The knowledge that even Laufey hadn't known of his very existence… Not that he really cared, but now he officially didn't belong anywhere.

Filled with hatred, Loki stared up to the towering woman in front of him. His ruby eyes had turned dark red and were filled with pure rage.

"You and Odin should get more acquainted…" he hissed.

"The Allfather should have left you on that rock to die!" Farbauti shouted. "You have grown into an even bigger disgrace than I thought possible! A traitor of your own blood! A traitor of two worlds! A murderer of your own father!"

For an instant Loki could see a crack in that serious, cold façade of his true mother. Deep hatred melted through. The hatred of a widow, having the murderer of her husband at her mercy.

Before Loki got a chance to defend himself, Farbauti reached down and closed her long, grey fingers around the young king's bare throat. Loki felt his feet lose touch on the ground. He wanted to struggle, to kick, to scream, but a sudden, deeper and darker coldness spread from his neck through his whole body. He lost focus on the room. His surroundings changed into a mix of tall, dark masses and harsh sounds. In front of him arose the black silhouette of Farbauti. She easily lifted his limp, aching body, penetrating her long filthy nails in the back of his neck. Loki heard his own voice, screaming in agony, while his whole body got tortured in a burning fire of ice. And then, just like that, he felt the cold ground all around him. Loki drew a shaky breath while he blinked away his tears, desperately trying to focus and orientate. His limb shook frantically in spastic movements, while the last stabs of Farbauti's frozen fire ran through his muscles. Two strong hands painfully closed around his upper arms and drew the young king to his feet. Loki blinked and winced. Farbauti towered above him once more. A low chuckle left her lips while she almost lovingly placed one finger under Loki's chin, forcing him to look up at her.

"How thoughtful…" she sniggered while Loki felt another blast of frost infiltrate his body. He was sure his skin was covered in ice by now. "You are mortal…"

Farbauti laughed and removed her finger. The two other Jötuns dropped Loki back on the floor. The young king whimpered. He looked up at the Queen in front of him. He'd lost and he knew it. There was no way he would come out of this alive.

"Just kill me, already…" he sighed. To his surprise, Farbauti laughed and shook her head.

"Oh no…" she said while carefully lowering herself to Loki's eye level. "Royals like you deserve special treatment…"

Loki winced. He doubted she was talking about a warm bath and a fine meal.

"A man came to us, not so long ago…" Farbauti continued, now in a silent whisper so only Loki could understand her. "An old friend of yours…"

Loki's eyes grew big with horror. The Other had been here as well!

"He offered us a good price for your head, but I think I'll keep you to myself for now…"

Loki looked up in his true mother's ruby eyes. For some reason he suddenly had the great desire to see Thanos instead of her. Farbauti scowled wickedly and Loki felt his heart shrink to a minimum.

"You killed my husband! And you will pay! You will burn on this realm of ice! We are going to have so much fun together, my son!"

* * *

**I know this fic has been very depressing lately... I'm sorry to inform you that it's not done yet... I'm sorry! But I promise some wonderful chapters in the future to make up or it!**

**Please let me know what you think! I'll try writing when I can...**

**Rumple x**


	55. Chapter 54

**Hi! OMG... You think you suffered while waiting for this! Think again! **

**All right... forget that ever happened... I've just been soooooooooo busy!**

**And I'm soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy I can FINALLY write and update! :) *happy me***

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 54**_

It had been two weeks since Odin had banished his stepson to the bitter cold of Jotenheim. The tension in the palace was high and heavy with sadness but also with fear. Two days after his return, The Allfather had ordered a feast in his honour for which his whole kingdom was invited. It would have been a night of celebration, if not for the fact that Odin decided to, without warning, uncover Loki's true parentage and crimes. Ever since that unfortunate second, all the smiling faces had disappeared. Asgard had turned into a grim and dark place. No Asgardian fully knew what to think of the situation. Some felt betrayed by Loki, others could not place the idea of a Frost Giant into Loki's great deeds and sacrifices over the past few years. But what could they do? The Allfather had forbidden any speech about his stepson as if trying to not only exile him from his realm, but also banish him from the Asgardian memory.

Thor quickly made his way through the silent hallways of Asgard. Every now and then, he passed an angry looking warrior or servant. Naturally, they blamed their prince for letting things come this far. Odin had taken back his throne, but his rule was hard and dark. As Captain, Thor was expected to bring forward the peoples troubles to the king in order to find a solution. However, Odin just refused to listen to anyone, including his son.

"Thor! Finally!"

Fandral, smiling widely, stepped forward and handed his friend an almost overflowing cup of red wine. Thor smiled shortly, took the cup and dropped Mjölnir on the ground before crashing down on the nearest chair he could find.

He looked around the room. In the middle burned the usual fire, but even those flames seemed to burn less enthusiastic. Around the fire set his friends: Lady Sif, The Warriors Three and Arya, who seemed to be lost in thought. The former Captain sat in a chair, pushed away in the corner with her legs close to her chest and her untouched goblet of wine in her trembling fingers. Thor let his eyes rest on the raven haired girl for a while, wondering once more why she seemed so upset and lost. Of course he understood that she was sad about losing her job, but after two weeks?

Thor scanned the rest of his friends. He almost felt sad to see them wearing casual Asgardian clothes instead of their harnesses. Odin had not forgotten about their part in Loki's escape together with his son six years ago. But since The Allfather felt more paranoid than ever before, he'd allowed them to remain free of charge on Asgard. However, the four warriors were grounded for two months and that included no fighting and no travelling outside Asgard.

"Where's Jane?" Thor asked after a short silence.

Volstagg who sat in the chair next to him, raised his shoulders. "I don't know, but I suppose she's with Frigga. Our little princess was crying again this morning…"

The God of Thunder sighed and closed his eyes for a second while letting his head rest on the back of the chair. He'd barely seen his wife and daughter over the last few days. His only excuse was that he was trying to make things right and perhaps get Loki back on Asgard in the process. That seemed to be a rather hard job now that he wasn't allowed to even mention his brother's name.

Suddenly Jane stormed in the room. She looked around, a deep frown of worry crossing her face. Thor looked up and raised his eyebrows.

"Has anyone seen Frigga?" Jane asked. Everyone in the room turned to the worried mother.

"Is she missing?" Sif asked.

Jane sighed and rubbed her forehead. "She was with me at lunch!" she said. "Suddenly Prince jumped on my lap. I figured he wanted some leftovers, so I gave him some, but when I looked up, Frigga was gone! And just like that, Prince decided to bail as well! I swear those two are working together! That is one evil, puppy-eyed wolf!"

Fandral laughed aloud. "So she ran off…" he said. "I don't think you need to worry, Jane. As long as Prince is at her side…"

Jane sighed again and rubbed her eyes. How on Earth was Fandral capable of laughing this much?

"She'll turn up eventually…" Volstagg added with a kind smile. Yet Jane and Thor didn't seem convinced. The two parents shared a look, before Thor got on his feet and put down his full goblet.

"I'll find her, sweetheart…" he said with a tired smile.

"She's with Heimdall!" a sudden voice suddenly sounded from the corner. Everyone turned towards the source. Arya sat up straight in her chair, her legs still pulled up against her chest. She'd put aside her cup. "I saw her leave the palace before I came here. She goes to Heimdall to ask about Loki…"

Everyone turned silent. For starters, they were surprised to hear Arya speak after such a long time of short responses. Besides that, everyone was wondering whether or not they had to go and find the little princess or not.

Arya let her eyes float over her friends before smiling softly. "I think it's better if we leave her alone for a while…" she said as if she could read their thoughts.

-xxx-

Heimdall watched the little girl in front of him with a cheerful curiosity. Frigga sat at the edge of Bifröst with her feet dangling outside. She certainly had no fear of falling, which was normal since Heimdall had told her about the invisible force field, surrounding the building. The young princess carefully flicked the pages of the enormous book on her lap.

Heimdall would recognize that book anywhere. He'd seen it being passed down for generations. He, himself had given it to the Great Merlin, when the Forces Of Old had chosen him. Merlin had left it for his most trusted pupil: Frigga, Queen of Asgard. She had passed it to her stepson, Loki, son of two worlds, God of Mischief. Now he had delivered it to its next owner. Frigga, the second of her name, Child of Midgard, Princess of Asgard, The Lady of Light.

Outside the Bifröst stood Lyn, Frigga's trusty horse. Over the last two months Frigga had discovered that, in contrast with her magic lessons, horseback riding came rather natural. Her father had told her that it probably had something to do with the strict royal line of horses, only meant for their respective riders, but Frigga couldn't care less. All she wanted was to ride as much as possible and Lyn seemed to share that desire. At first Frigga had been slightly scared and surprised about the speed her horse could reach. Lyn easily ran passed any horse, including her father's and Loki's, on Asgard. When she was riding Lyn, Frigga felt as if she could fly. Yet, ever since Loki's banishment, even Lyn hadn't been able to bring Frigga's smile back to her face. It almost seemed as if the white horse could sense Frigga's change of attitude and mood, because it cautiously eyed her rider, not at all distracted by the enthusiastic jumping form of Prince who was chasing the dancing sparkles which the Bifröst cast upon the ground, around the room.

Frigga turned the pages at a slow pace until she hit upon a rather old piece of yellowish parchment, stuck between too pages. Merlin, Queen Frigga and Loki had put many of these extra documents in between the book to grant more information on the spells on the respective pages. A cold shiver ran down Frigga's spine while her eyes floated over the old picture of a Frost Giant. Little black runes were penned on several places on the Jotun's body. The runes were Old Norse, but Frigga knew that these ones in particular were numbers, referring to the numerous clarifications in the right hand corner.

Around the pictures stood various notes, probably consisting of extra information or spells, but Frigga couldn't translate. Usually, Loki would translate the Old Norse runes for her, although, recently, Frigga had discovered that Heimdall also mastered Old Norse.

"Heimdall?" Frigga suddenly asked, catching the Guardian's attention once more. "I was wondering… if Loki is a Frost Giant, why did his real mother and father not raise him?"

Heimdall frowned, but smiled. Frigga always managed to ask the most interesting questions.

"I doubt we'll ever know…" Heimdall lied. He'd followed every word of Loki's and Farbauti's conversation, now two weeks ago. Yet, Frigga wouldn't understand why a mother would cast out her child willingly.

"Are they all bad?" Frigga continued asking. "I mean, the Frost Giants?"

Heimdall raised his eyebrows. "The Jötuns have always been an enemy of Asgard…" he finally said.

Frigga vaguely nodded. "But Loki is a Frost Giants as well…" she whispered while focusing her eyes on a the distant stars as if she could spot Jotenheim from where she sat. "Loki is not mean…"

Heimdall considered Frigga's words. Of course he didn't believe in good and bad. Heimdall had lived long enough to understand it lived next to each other like darkness and light. Not one existed without the other, but how to explain that to a six year old.

Carefully Heimdall sat down next to the young princess and put one hand on the old picture of the Frost Giant in the book.

"Do you know why this picture is within this book?" he asked after a short silence. Frigga slowly shook her head. Heimdall winced almost invisibly. The young princess' face lacked any kind of childlike happiness. Her bright blue eyes seemed darkened with the trouble of a grow up. The Guardian quickly recovered and smiled softly.

"Queen Frigga, your grandmother, once added this page to the book. I remember it well! She came to me every day, not to ask questions, but to watch the stars, in search for hidden and ancient answers. I, myself was one of the few who knew of Loki's real parentage, so I realised Frigga was looking for the same answers as you."

Frigga turned to the Guardian. "What did she find?" she asked silently.

Heimdall smiled mysteriously and turned towards the empty space next to him. His golden eyes turned foggy when his mind repeated an old memory before his eyes.

**MEMORY**

"My good lord, Heimdall…"

Heimdall turned his attention toward his queen. The fair blond lady stood at the back of the Bifröst, her toes touching the edge. She didn't look his way, but kept her gaze on the universe before her. Long golden hairs caressed the back of her silver gown and touched her trembling hands, folded on her lower back.

"My lady?" The Guardian answered.

"You know why I am here?" Frigga asked. "You are aware of my research…"

The Allmother fell silent and Heimdall patiently waited for her to continue.

"Tell me, my friend! Tell me the answers I seek, if your knowledge allows you to do so… I am equally blinded by hatred and love, by stories and legends, by fiction and fact…"

Without a sound, Frigga turned on her heals in one swift movement. Her normally bright eyes, were scarred by an anxious fear.

"I do not know where to turn, lord Heimdall!" the Queen exclaimed. She started pacing around Bifröst. "I know what answer I desire, but is it true? I know what I want to hear, but I would only be fouled by my own thoughts! Heimdall, I have searched the archives for similar occurrences, yet none has been recorded so far! My research on our enemies, our allies has left nothing but confusion for myself."

"My lady, may I point out that _confusion_ may equalize _answers_. Perhaps my queen has found answers, yet not those she expected to find."

Frigga stopped pacing and turned towards the golden Guardian. A deep frown appeared on her face.

Lost in thoughts she continued. "All creatures must have a concept of love…" she murmured. "Without it, existence is not possible, for how do you raise your child if you do not expect it to grow?"

The Queen shook her head and quickly moved her hands over each other. A flash lit up the Bifröst and the big book of spells appeared in her palm. Without saying a word, Frigga started to leaf through the pages until she came to a halt on a certain piece of parchment. She carefully removed the picture, put it on the golden floor and looked further. Minutes passed and every now and then, the Queen picked another piece of parchment with various pictures, from the book, until the ground was covered with seven different pictures. Frigga let her eyes wander over the parchment.

"Behold, good Heimdall: the creatures of our realms! Good and evil, mortal and gods alike…" she spoke while slowly walking among the six pictures. With every one she passed she named the creatures on it.

"First there is us," Frigga started at the first piece of parchment. "The Aesir, the Asgardians… The Gods… We are to present all what is good and just."

Frigga looked up, as if she expected Heimdall to respond, but the Guardian remained silent, so the Queen continued.

"Secondly, the Vanir, the Vanheimers, older Gods, the first to possess the power to wield magic, as is told in the stories of old. We now live in perfect harmony… Again, a model of justice…"

Heimdall smiled softly, but kept quiet and let his queen continue.

"Then we have the Light Elves, bearers of light. Known to possess mysterious powers, different from the magic of old. Strange creatures, yet no harmful thought would cross their minds…"

Frigga fell quiet when her eye caught the next picture. It wasn't very detailed as the ones before. "Dark Elves…" she whispered. "The exact opposite of the Light Elves. Creatures of greed, yet forgotten in the river of time. Next, we have the creatures born in the fires of Muspelheim…"

Frigga picked up the parchment she was talking about, but it held no pictures, only a few notes. "Demons and Fire Giants, led by the tyrant Surt… that's all we know for they only exist in legend and we cannot set foot on their realm of fire. At last we have the Frost Giants, Jotüns, sworn enemies of Asgard."

Frigga looked back up at the Guardian. "You see Heimdall? Our realms exist of legends, of good and bad, but how do we understand one if we cannot be the other? How do we know the concept of good and bad, of dark and light, if we are only one?"

Heimdall smiled. "I believe my Queen already knows the answer on these questions. Why else would you be here and ask me?"

Frigga sighed. "When I look at Loki, I cannot see the sworn darkness in his eyes, although I see a difference with Thor. I cannot name it, Heimdall! I cannot understand, because we don't have an explanation in these realms!"

Heimdall slowly made his way to the back of the Bifröst. "I'm afraid you are missing the obvious solution, my lady," he said. "We do have an answer on the subject of good and bad…"

Frigga frowned while Heimdall took the book from her hands and searched for the right page. When he finally found it, he turned the book so his Queen could read it.

"Humans, my lady…" he said while watching Frigga's eyes grow big. "Their history is filled with wars and injustice. However, if you watch closely, no human was ever pure evil, nor pure goodness. They tend to take our legends of gods and demons to justify or their actions and this in every belief they have. Although there are those who find the mortals insignificant, I think them rather interesting. For they make the same mistakes in their short lives as we do in ages. They suffer the same problems and fears. And yet they live from day to day, knowing more about what is good and bad and how they live next to each other for they see it every day. If you attempt to learn what lies in our youngest prince, I suggest you start there."

Frigga looked up. "But Loki has no link the humans at all! Why would I find answers on Midgard?"

Heimdall raised his shoulders. "As I said before: my lady already knows the answers she seeks. Perhaps you are afraid to see…"

Frigga, The Queen of Asgard nodded. She moved her hands through the air and her book disappeared together with the pages on the floor.

"Then I will visit the human world and face my fears!" she proclaimed. "Send me to Midgard, good Heimdall. I thank you for your counsel!"

The Guardian smiled and bowed his head before making his way back to the centre of the room.

"Pay attention, my queen. War rages over the lands!" he said before activating the Bifröst to send his queen to Midgard.

**END MEMORY**

Frigga looked up at Heimdall, trying to picture her grandmother. She sounded so wise and strong…

"What did she find?" the little girl asked. Heimdall smiled. Finally that excited spark was back in the young princess' blue eyes.

"After her journey to Midgard, Queen Frigga travelled among the other realms. She visited Alfheim, Nidavellir and Vanaheim, and even set foot upon Jotenheim and the barren hills of Svartalfheim, trying to put her new knowledge to practise. That is, to see whether or not the human ideas fitted within the legends of old. When she came back, she came to me…"

Frigga blinked confusedly. Why was it that Asgardians couldn't just stick to the point? Why always so many words! When Heimdall's words finally got meaning she said: "What did she tell you?"

"Queen Frigga told me this:" Heimdall started with an almost proud expression covering his face, "Ideals of an immortal creature like ourselves are based on legends and stories. We take them for granted without realising we are fouled. We put different kin in different places, on different realms as if that keeps them from spreading their ideals. We think in black and white, swimming in the worship of the human folk, forgetting that we too have a complex society. We think of "evil" as a faraway problem: the Frost Giants, The Dark Elves, … However, during my stay on Jotenheim, I disguised myself as a Jotun. I saw much hatred towards us, Asgard… They think _us "_evil". They know "love" like ours. They know friendship and honour. A Jotun family took me in when I was in need of shelter and they let me live with them for at least a fortnight."

Heimdall fell quiet.

Little Frigga sighed. "Okay…" she muttered. "So your saying they're not … bad?"

Heimdall laughed shortly. "Queen Frigga told me many stories in which she explained her findings, but I will not bother you too much with those. What she said to me in the end, was this: "There is only one concept of "loving", no matter how broad you take that concept. Love for a friend, love for a lover, love for a child… That concept is practised in only one way, across our realms. You will find it everywhere… However, it's how an outsider experiences it, that brings about confusion. When a mother kills an intruder to protect her child, the friends of that intruder will not take her actions as "love", but as an act of hate and violence. They, on the their part, might attack out of "love and honour", which, again won't be understood as such."

Frigga blinked and squinted her eyes shut. Her mind was spinning. She absolutely preferred Loki's lessons. At least the God of Mischief was capable of being understandable!

"What does that have to do with Loki? Did she find an answer?" Frigga asked after a short silence. Heimdall sighed. He understood Frigga was too young to understand this, but he'd had the feeling she needed to know. Perhaps to make sure she didn't get a black and white image of the world as so many Asgardians had before. The golden Guardian was certain that, when she was older, Frigga would understand.

"What I am trying to tell you, is what Queen Frigga told me on the same day on which Loki fell off the Bifröst and was thought dead. In many ways, Loki had done bad things, for which Odin secretly blamed his Jotun parentage. Frigga, however, saw things differently…"

Frigga frowned and waited. Instinctively she knew that Heimdall was finally going to give her an answer.

Heimdall locked his eyes on the stars, smiling softly. "Young Frigga," he said, "there are many colours of darkness. There is as much good as bad in the universe. In fact, there one and the same. What do you see when you think of "evil"?"

Frigga frowned again and bit her lip. "I think of my nightmares…" she said. "And of the Tesseract… I think of wars and my parents fighting."

"What do you think of the Frost Giants?"

Frigga raised her shoulders. "I don't really like them, but…"

"But Loki is one of them!" Heimdall finished. "There you have your problem, the same problem Queen Frigga faced. Evil for you is darkness, noises of battle, blue Tesseract Energy,… For others, take the Frost Giants, is this different. They are raised with a hatred towards Asgard, towards light, towards gold, towards magic. All the things you love…"

Frigga slowly nodded. "But…" she started. "But there are things that we both have, right?"

Heimdall raised his eyebrows in question. Frigga swallowed and searched for the right words.

"Like… Like fear to loose someone… I don't want to lose Loki, or my mommy, my dad or Arya… The Frost Giants don't want to lose their friends either!"

Heimdall smiled broadly. Frigga had gotten his message after all. Something that took the most brilliant Asgardians years to grasp, had taken her only minutes.

He smiled mysteriously and bowed forward. "Perhaps," he whispered, "you are not so different after all…"

-xxx-

Loki sighed, watching his breath rise to the ceiling and disappear in the cold air of his cell. Two weeks… The God of Mischief shivered and winced. His body was aching in every possible way. Two weeks of absolute torment. Every day, a Jotun guard, grinning stupidly, would open his cell and drag Loki's mortal body to the enormous stadium, just outside the centre of the Jotun stronghold. Loki figured the building had been constructed after the infamous wars against Asgard, because next to the palace, it was the only one which looked somewhat impressive. Rows of seats rose up around the central open stage, making the stadium look like the old Midgardian Amphitheatres. Once Loki had been thrown inside once more and he'd managed to crawl back on his feet in an attempt to regain at least a tiny bit of his honour, some other Jötuns would open the icy gates, allowing a monstrous looking creature to enter while the audience would cheer like a bunch of lunatics. All Loki had to his disposal was a rusty sword, something that looked like a shield and a couple of ropes. Yet every time, the young king had managed to somehow defeat the creatures, using his knowledge on fighting and deceiving.

Loki grunted. Who was he kidding? Those creatures were far from what he used to fight in the past and thereby an immediate insult to his status and skills. But what could he do? His body simply didn't allow any more. Once he was done fighting and he'd sunk on his knees, bleeding, aching and exhausted, a few of Farbauti's personal "assistant" – they were obviously only trying to impress her – would enter and enjoy using Loki as their moving target practise for at least half an hour, until the young king could do nothing else than yield and admit his defeat. Never they did him true harm. No broken bones, only some epic bruises, scratches and perhaps a sprained ankle, but never enough to keep him inside his cell.

Feeling miserable and lost, Loki closed his eyes. He was back where he had started: locked up in a cell, by Odin's doing, with no power whatsoever. Loki had never been homesick no matter how long he was away from Asgard. That was probably the result of the constant feeling he'd had, even as a child, that he didn't fully belong in the realm of the Gods. This time however, Loki craved to go back. Back to the light, the sounds, the warmth… back to Thor's stupid face, to Fandral's jokes, Sif's teasing, Volstagg's impressive appetite… Back to little Frigga's trust and kindness and back to Arya's beautiful smile.

* * *

**Don't be too depressed folks... I'm not THAT evil...**

**I do hope you enjoyed it! Please forgive me for making you wait this long. I honestly would like to write more, but I'm just so freakishly busy... But no fear! I will not forget you!**

**Anyway, let me know what you think! Please review!**

**And I'll see you in another life!**

**Rumple x**


	56. Chapter 55

**Hi! Not going to keep you waiting! ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 55**_

Arya silently crept through the dark deserted halls of the palace. Only every now and then she would hit upon a watchful guard, but she skilfully managed to avoid being seen. Finally she reached the stables where she carefully opened the door to her horse's stables. Most of the other horses were sleeping, but when Arya's faithful steed noticed his master, he instantly got to his feet and neighed silently. Arya put her finger on her lips as if the horse would understand the gesture.

"Be quiet!" she whispered while reaching out to get a saddle and the bridle. As fast as possible she saddle her horse and let him out the stables toward the bridge where she quickly mounted and galloped towards the silent building of the Bifröst. When she finally made it, she dismounted and entered. Heimdall was, as always, watching over the stars. When he heard the young warrior enter, he smiled and said: "I thought I would see you one of these days, my lady!"

Arya froze, but quickly recovered and kept walking until she was standing next to the Guardian.

It remained silent for a couple of seconds. Arya cleared her throat nervously.

"My lord, I was wondering…," she started, but Heimdall interrupted.

"He's not fine!" he exclaimed shortly. Arya felt the blood leave her cheeks as she turned to the Guardian. Heimdall locked his eyes on her emerald ones and nodded sadly.

"Our prince is suffering on Jotenheim…"

Arya felt her blood run cold. "But.. but…" she stuttered. "Frigga said…"

"I told the young princess what she needed to hear and, more importantly, what she could handle."

Arya felt new tears burn in her eyes. Why couldn't she stop crying! Why did it feel as if her heart had been ripped out and that the wounds kept bleeding?

"Is their nothing you can do, Heimdall?" she asked in a broken voice. The Guardian's golden eyes turned sad.

"The Allfather refuses to listen… In his eyes, Loki gets what he deserved…"

"But…" Arya started.

"Which is why Thor, Lady Jane, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are plotting against him at this very moment," Heimdall interrupted. Arya's eyes grew big.

"What…," she whispered confusedly.

Heimdall smiled mysteriously. "Yes… I can see them as we speak."

Arya frowned. "See them?" she asked.

Heimdall turned back to her and smiled, although a touch of sadness was visible in his golden eyes.

"Indeed… They are meeting in secret tonight, hoping to bring an end to these grey times and bring Loki back to our realm."

Arya shook her head. Why hadn't they asked her? Didn't they trust her? And Sif and Jane… they knew there was no one who would fight for Loki as she would. She wanted to bring him back home! Back to her…

However… a spark of hope lit up in the cold darkness of her broken heart. "Where are they meeting?" she asked both kind and demanding.

"The only place where no one's looking…" Heimdall answered mysteriously. "However, telling you where, would be an act of betrayal towards Odin."

Arya sighed and rolled her eyes. "My lord, aren't you betraying the Allfather already by keeping quiet about Thor and the others' plans?"

Heimdall turned his attention back on the stars. "Of course not! I told _you_, my lady! I'd trust a loyal citizen and ex- Captain of the Guard would tell our king what I just told you right away…"

Arya's eyes grew big. She took a step forward so she was facing Heimdall once more.

"So now _I'm_ committing treason by not telling him!" she exclaimed.

A flash of childish delight crossed the Guardian's golden eyes. "It's not like you were planning on doing anything else, my lady…"

Arya closed her eyes for a second while, for the first time in weeks, she felt the urge to laugh bubble up from inside her.

"Right…" she eventually said with a smile playing on her lips. "Thank you, Heimdall, for your counsel."

The Guardian smiled warmly. "You know where you're going?" he asked.

Arya turned on her heels and started making her way to the exit where her horse was patiently waiting. She smiled. "Yes… your non-treason was pretty obvious, my lord."

-xxx-

Arya silently made her way through the halls while a new found happiness filled her being. A smile played on her lips while she crept along the closed doors of the palace privet rooms. Outside the sun had started her rise in the sky and was already awkwardly peeking over the horizon. Asgard would start waking up soon, so she needed to hurry, but with every step she got closer to her destination, Arya felt more and more nervous. Why in the nine realms was she nervous!

The young warrior's pace slowed down. There, at the end of the dark hallway, a set of closed doors were waiting. No one had set foot near them for the last two weeks because the owner of the rooms behind those dark oak doors was currently housing in one of the darkest, coldest dungeons of Jotenheim.

It was the first time Arya had ever been in this part of the royal palace. Her own former chambers were located in the wing next to this one where most of Asgard's highest ranks had the privilege of staying. It wasn't the fact that she wasn't royalty that bothered her, but the idea of being in Loki's chambers without his permission or will, gave her an anxious feeling. She just wasn't supposed to be here! But that also counted for the others, so Arya swallowed away her fear and crossed the last few meters to the doors. Once she was there she waited a few moments, half expecting to hear whether her guess had been right and that her friends were inside, but she knew no sound would make it through these walls.

With clammy hands and her heart beating in her ears, she carefully pushed open the doors. They opened without trouble, so someone had to be inside. Whoever it was had stupidly forgotten to lock the door behind him.

_Probably Fandral…_ Arya thought in an attempt to wash away her fears.

The few sounds she'd heard once the door had opened instantly turned into complete silence. Arya decided to just enter as fast as possible, if only to prevent Thor from throwing Mjölnir towards her head.

The young warrior quickly jumped inside and closed the doors behind her while raising her hands protectively in front of her.

"Just me!" she exclaimed. Just in time apparently because everyone inside the room had already grabbed their weapon and readied for battle. Arya smiled uneasily and scanned the room. Everyone was here, but the first thing she noticed was the size of Loki's chambers. They were obviously a lot bigger than what hers had been. In the middle of the room stood a large table, fit for at least eight people, but there was only one chair. The table was covered in books and parchment scrolls, burned out candles and pens. In fact every other table in the room was stacked with books and parchment. Ironically, the floor and the bed were free of any mess. Arya couldn't help but smile. She felt as if Loki's chambers gave a perfect reflection of Loki himself: a busy, constantly curious and eager to learn mind, but a neat and stylish appearance.

Pressed against the back wall was Loki's king-sized bed and two big closets, only meant for books and hundreds of veils filled with every colour of potion imaginable behind dark opal glass. The left wall of the room existed only out of two glass doors, immediately giving excess to a huge balcony. Arya cold almost picture Loki spending night after night on that balcony, looking at the stars while wondering over far off worlds.

"Arya…" a voice sounded. The young warrior looked up and met Sif's gaze. The female warrior was sitting at the central table on one of the few other chairs in Loki's chambers. Thor set across the table, on Loki's chair with Jane leaning on the back. They both looked up in surprise. The Warriors Three were standing around the table. Arya smiled awkwardly and lowered her hands.

"Hi…," she answered. "I eeer… Heimdall… he told me…"

A short silence filled the air.

"Typical!" Fandral shouted. "You think you know a guy!"

Sif rolled her eyes and turned to the golden warrior. "Didn't you say that you had closed the door?" she asked.

Fandral smiled sheepishly. "I closed it… perhaps I forgot to lock it…"

"Arya?" Thor asked, ignoring his two friends. "Please don't think we didn't trust you."

Again silence fell over the room and Arya felt the old stab of anger return. Before she could answer Jane quickly continued.

"We know we can trust you, we just didn't think you were…"

Jane fell silent, searching for the right words while her gaze crossed Sif's. They were the only ones knowing about Arya's true feelings. Of course they hadn't told the guys anything.

"You seemed a little bit off, lately," Sif concluded.

"Yeah…," Fandral added with a kind smile. "We just didn't want to bother you…"

Arya's lips opened in a silent _Oh. _She hadn't realised how antisocial she'd been over the last weeks. She quickly shared a look with Jane and Sif, mentally thanking them for not telling her secrets. She was certain the guys would only laugh.

"I… I… suppose I was…," the young warrior eventually admitted. "But I would like to help!" she added. "I want to help bring Loki back to Asgard!"

Silence again. Arya looked around the room, wondering what she'd said wrong. Sif and the Warriors Three suddenly locked their eyes on the ground with grim expressions covering their faces.

Thor cleared his throat. "As a matter of fact, we were just discussing whether bringing Loki back is a good move…"

Arya's eyes grew big. Her eye fell on Sif, who was desperately trying to avoid her stares. Sif knew what Loki meant to her! Why would she even hesitate?

Arya's stare locked on Jane who immediately smelled trouble.

"Look, Arya… We know what you're… thinking…" she tried. "Just hear us out…"

The young warrior needed all her willpower to remain somewhat calm.

Jane crossed stares with Thor before continuing.

"Thor, Frigga and I want Loki back. That's certain. Don't think for a second that Sif and the others wish Loki any harm, but…"

"We might just be asking for trouble…" Thor finished.

Arya raised her hands above her head. "What trouble!" she shouted. To her surprise Volstagg was the one to answer.

"Loki is a Frost Giant, Arya! Doesn't that mean anything to you? Of all the things he's done…"

"Volstagg, my friend…" Fandral tried, but his fellow warrior didn't listen.

"Not only did he betray us and imprisoned us, he is also our sworn enemy! You can't just expect me to forget that! And that doesn't only count for us. What about the people of Asgard? _We_ have a millennia of friendship behind us, _they_ just found out their former king was a liar and a monster!"

Arya opened and closed her mouth in awe. "Is that what you're all thinking?" she asked while letting her eyes glide over Sif and the Warriors Three. "Because whatever you're going to say, it all applied to me as well! I didn't know the truth either! I don't seem to have such a problem with it!"

"Sure, of course you don't…," Fandral muttered. Arya turned towards the golden warrior. Her emerald eyes lit up in her anger and heartbreak.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" she cried out without thinking. Fandral seemed surprised at first, but quickly shook his head.

"Nothing…," he said.

Thor sighed. "My friends, I understand you don't feel comfortable with Loki being a Frost Giant, let alone bringing him back to Asgard, but if I could accept that truth, if my mother could, my father even accepted it once, then you should be able to do the same. What is Loki without a bit of mystery? Without secrecy?"

"The hell with secrecy!" Arya interrupted. "Have you all forgotten what Loki has done for us? How many lives he's saved, including ours! He led us into battle! He saved Frigga's life! He saved the whole of Asgard from starvation! He freed Vanaheim from the bandits rampaging!"

Arya's voices echoed through the room, leaving everyone speechless. After a couple of seconds, the young warrior seemed to relax a bit.

"Loki made my mother pass to the Other Worlds in peace, without fear, without pain…" a voice suddenly rang out. Arya turned to the only Vanaheimer in the room and swallowed. Hogun had locked his eyes on the dark golden floor of Loki's chambers, but while his words slowly faded into silence, he looked up. "I promised to follow Loki that day, for he had proven his strength and noble heart. I have always looked upon Loki with a twitch of distrust… Although I had never expected the truth to be this drastic, I would be lying to my own senses if I were to neglect what I always have known. "

Fandral slowly nodded. He folded his arms in front of his chest while a serious frown appeared on his handsome face. "Perhaps we are forgetting that Loki did not know of his truth parentage himself until a few years ago. There were times I trusted my life to him. I would not do that with an enemy! I think we all knew that Loki was different from us… But we never let that get in the way of our friendship! Why start doing that now?"

Volstagg and Sif shared a glance. They both sighed and diverted their eyes, fighting an inner battle between their heart and common sense.

"But what about the rest of Asgard?" Volstagg sighed after a few moments. "And Odin… he won't let Loki stay! Even if we manage to rescue him, The Allfather will most likely kill Loki once he sets foot on Asgard!"

Arya turned to The God of Thunder. "Is there nothing you can do, Thor?" she asked.

Thor shrugged. "What do you think I've been trying to do during the last few weeks, Arya? My father just won't listen!"

Arya shook her head. There had to be something they could do! In fact she wanted to depart for Jotenheim right now, save Loki and bring him back home. She would protect him! She would give her life if she had to, but what good would that do?

"You know…" Sif suddenly joined in. "Right now, The Allfather isn't listening, but I am certain that the people of Asgard, at least some of them, want Loki back just as much! There's no denying that he has been a better king than Odin so far."

Jane nodded. "Yes… That's what I've been thinking as well. They won't go against Odin right now, but if Loki's here, he won't be able to just kill him. The people won't tolerate that!"

Thor smiled. "Even the Lords are having their doubts! I believe Loki might have their protection as well."

"It's still a huge risk though…" Volstagg said. No one could argue that thought. "We would commit treason of the highest sort. Odin has been easy on us, but this… this will cost us our necks!"

Thor shook his head. "No, The King is not allowed to perform any kind of execution without the approval of the Captain and the Lords. He won't kill me, for I am his heir, so I'll have a word in the matter!"

"Not if he takes away your title again!" Sif pointed out.

Arya sighed. "Guys, we have no time to argue about this!" she exclaimed in panic. "I am sorry to tell you this, but Heimdall said Loki is being tortured down there! If we don't go now, he won't last much longer!"

Thor felt his blood run cold with fear. There it was again, that infernal brother instinct! He hadn't known this… of course it didn't come as such a surprise, but Odin must have known somehow… How could he tolerate this! Thor's fear washed away when a new wave of anger, that had been building up for weeks, took over. Jane looked down at her husband's clenched fists and immediately knew things were getting out of hand.

"Let's not make any rash decisions!" she quickly said, but one look on the others in the room, made it quite clear that she was too late. Everyone had the same look of hatred and determination in their eyes, as an almost automatic reaction on hearing that one of their team was in danger.

Even Volstagg suddenly forgot about his fears. He'd never wished Loki any harm. Not now, not ever!

But at the same time, everyone felt betrayed by their own judgements. What had they expected to hear? They'd all known Loki had to be in danger if he was still alive, only now when the word was spoken - tortured! - they could see.

"Then we have to go now!" Fandral shouted. His normally always playful glare had faded and made place for one of worry and hatred.

Thor nodded and got to his feet.

"Guys!" Sif called out. "We don't have a plan!"

"We go to Jotenheim, we get Loki, we come back!" Thor growled angrily, before continuing his way to the door. Jane sighed and rushed after husband, jumping in between him and the door.

"And how exactly will that work?" she asked. "First of all, Heimdall has to let you pass! Secondly, you'll have to do it without Odin knowing!"

"He'll know anyway!" Arya sighed. "We just do it or we don't! But if we don't, Loki will die!"

Jane turned to Arya when she heard the young female's heartbreak and fear in those last words. A stab of guilt cut through her heart. She knew how Arya felt! She felt the same way every time Thor would leave her side. It didn't matter if they were immortal or not. If the one you loved died, it didn't hurt any less…

"All right…" Jane stuttered after a short silence. "But you still can't leave without a proper plan, Thor!"

Sif nodded and joined Jane. "Exactly! This is Jotenheim! We can't forget that the Jötuns have every right to keep Loki prisoner. He is on their world, he belongs to them! Freeing him will not only go against Odin's orders, it will also break the treaty with Jotenheim. We need a plan to free Loki without them noticing, to escape without being seen and to make Odin claim Loki as an Asgardian again before the Jötuns declare war upon Asgard. It's the only way!"

"That already sounds difficult, don't get me started on actually making it happen!" Fandral joined in.

"Perhaps Thor needs to stay here…" Arya proposed. "Of all people, he's the one Odin's most likely to listen to!"

Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead. "He doesn't listen to me, Arya!"

"I know that!" the young warrior threw back. "But he absolutely won't listen to any of us! He despises Sif and the Warriors Three for betraying him in the past, he doesn't value my opinion and Jane's but a mortal!"

"That's true…" Hogun suddenly said. "But we can't leave Thor on Asgard. We might need a quick escape! We need Mjölnir!"

"Precisely!" Thor agreed. "And I will not abandon my brother, nor will I let any of you set foot on Jotenheim without me!"

"Trying to convince Odin while you're gone is not going to work anyway!" Jane said. "The moment he finds out where you've gone, he'll just come and get you himself!"

"But if we bring Loki here, we'll just drag him to his death!" Sif called out. Jane nodded.

"I realised that, but at least he'll be safe from the Jötuns!"

Thor nodded in agreement. "We'll have to convince father after we've come back!"

"There're enough people in Asgard who are ready to protect Loki… if we get them to stand up for Loki, we might be able to bring Odin to his senses!" Fandral added.

"It's risky…" Sif said after a short silence.

"Perhaps," Fandral said with the same creepy serious look in his eyes. "But it's all we have for the moment!"

"Fine…" Sif finally said. "Who will go then?"

"Jane and Arya will stay here!" Thor immediately answered. Jane didn't argue, knowing that she wouldn't be much help on Jotenheim, but Arya jerked her head towards The God of Thunder.

"What!" she exclaimed furiously. "I want to go as well!"

Thor's jaw clenched.

"ARYA!" she roared, making everyone jump a foot in the air, while they were reminded of Thor's power and authority.

"You follow my command!" he continued while taking a step towards the now slightly frightened young warrior. "You'll stay here! The people of Asgard will listen to you and Jane! You will follow the plan, talk to them, convince them to stand up to their king in order to protect Loki!"

Arya swallowed. She suddenly realised how incredibly disrespectful she'd been during the last minutes, completely ignoring her status. She was a common Asgardian now, with no title what so ever. The only reason her friends had tolerated her behaviour must have been out of friendship. Thor had every right to order her, and she had to follow him. Of course Arya was almost certain that nor Thor, nor anyone else in the room would ever use their power to boss her around. Only now, when she'd spoken out of line, when she was acting like a reckless fool, they did…

Arya slowly nodded. "Yes…" she muttered while silently bowing her head.

"When do we leave?" Fandral asked after a short awkward silence.

Thor turned his eyes away from Arya and took his final steps to the door. "Now!" she answered in a low voice.

* * *

**I know it took some time, but I still hope it was worth waiting for... at least a tiny bit... **

**As a response on my latest review, I honestly have every desire to finish this story, people! I'm soooooooooooooooo sorry my updates take so long! But I will finish it. Promise! Really, really, really! So don't worry about that ;)**

**Please let me know what you think so far. Your feedback means the world to me! So an extra THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed on my fic. You make my day!**

**Thank you all for not hating me too much yet! **

**Rumple x**


	57. Chapter 56

**There you go guys! Again, I'm so sorry to make you wait sooooooo long. I honestly feel bad about it. But... this one is a bit longer! So ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 56**_

Arya watched as her friends got ready to depart. The sun had risen above the horizon and was bound to wake up the first sleepy Asgardians, but that didn't stop Thor and his friends. They were standing at the stables, nervously waiting for Volstagg who still had to return from the armoury with his full armour and weapons. They all knew that the servants in charge of the stables could appear any moment, so they had to hurry. Arya sighed. She still wasn't very keen on staying behind, but Thor was right. She was closest to the people of Asgard. They would listen to her. And Jane had been Queen… so that would work out.

"Dreaming of me, are we?" a voice suddenly sounded. Arya snapped from her thoughts. Fandral stood next to her, smiling his biggest smile possible. The golden warrior was happy to be in armour and ready for battle once more. Arya smiled shortly.

"You wish…" she answered dryly, but Fandral didn't seem offended. On the contrary, he smiled and looked up at the young warrior in front of him.

"Don't worry…" she said kindly, taking Arya by surprise. "We'll bring Loki back…"

Arya blinked confusedly. Fandral smiled mysteriously and winked before turning his back to the young dazed warrior to join his friends. Arya frowned. It almost seemed as if Fandral knew about her true feelings… Sif wouldn't have told him, would she? And Jane… no…. Of all people, Fandral would be last they'd tell!

For some reason Arya felt a bit relieved. As if knowing that Fandral knew (possibly) made it all a lot easier. After all, Fandral had grown into being one of her best friends and although he just loved to make fun of absolutely everything, Arya knew he also had a caring, serious and genuinely smart side.

Jane walked up to Arya and sighed while rubbing her arms in the chill morning air.

"Volstagg's here…" she pronounced. Arya nodded, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her mind kept on wondering off to Loki. In what state was he? Would they be able to save him?

Arya shook her head and rubbed her temples. She had to keep positive! Loki was alive! She was certain! He had to be… She would know if he wasn't, right?

Jane threw her arm around the young warrior and squeezed her shoulder, until Arya looked up.

"They'll be fine!" Jane said with a smile, even though she couldn't fully hide the fear in her words. "Loki'll be back before you know it!"

Arya wanted to smile, to let Jane's encouraging words wash over her, but the fear didn't fade.

"We're leaving…" Thor's voice sounded. Both women looked up and found the prince if Asgard mounting his horse. The rest followed his example. Arya's glare shifted to Jane, who had locked her eyes on her husband. Thor looked back and smiled shortly, before guiding his horse towards the bridge. Arya swallowed. The love those two were sending each other, just by means of stares… For the first time ever, she craved to feel the same way.

Only when the trampling of hooves had died in the distance did Jane turn back to Arya. She smiled a smile which only mothers could master. That look that told you it was going to be fine, while hiding the worst of fears imaginable.

"I'll better go back. I'm certain Frigga woke up. She always does… whenever something is going on."

Arya nodded. "I'll think of a way to get the people to gather, without too much guards around…"

Jane nodded and quickly turned around, rushing back to her chambers.

Arya stared in the far distance, trying to figure out the best way to convince people to follow Loki instead of Odin… The idea in general wasn't very difficult to put into practise. After all, there weren't many Asgardians who were happy with the current situation, but would they be brave enough to conquer their fears? The young warrior turned around. She started making her way back to the palace when a familiar face suddenly came into view. It was Kale, the father of Brenna and Bjorn, Frigga's friends. Kale slowly made his way to Lynn's stable. Arya made a quick decision and rushed after him.

"Kale!" she called out. The surprised groom turned around and smiled when he saw Arya coming closer.

"My lady!" he answered, even though Arya had lost her title along with her job as Captain. "What brings you here on this beautiful morning!"

Arya smiled, hoping she didn't seem too nervous.

"I couldn't sleep… So I thought I'd made a quick morning stroll…"

Kale nodded. "Asgard is at its best during this time of day… A silent awakening of golden beauty. Every morning, without fail, free of charge! The wonder of dawn…"

Kales eyes locked on the magnificent sunrise. He smiled softly, but his eyes were sad. Arya saw her chance.

"Asgard does miss its beauty these days…" she said softly. Kale nodded.

"The warmth is missing…" he confirmed.

Arya bit her lip. It was risky to ask, but what did she have to loose.

"Is it just me? Or does it seem Asgard misses Loki?"

As expected Kale jerked his head towards the young warrior, his face pale, his eyes wide open with fear.

"I… I… I wouldn't know, Arya. It is forbidden to speak of… him."

_Him?_ Arya thought while a warm spark of hope lit up in her heart. Odin often spoke of _that _or _it _ when he'd announced Loki's true parentage. A Frost Giant… a monster… and the whole of Asgard had to remember!

But Kale spoke of _him._ Arya wondered if the friendly groom was the only one.

"No one can forbid you to think about it…" Arya continued with a smile. Kale turned to her once more, his eyes showing a look that Arya hadn't expected to see. It was a look of sadness, but also determination and faith. A look that told her how much Kale had been thinking about it.

Arya took a decision. She could ruing everything, but she had to start somewhere and she wouldn't get there on her own. So the young warrior stared back for a few seconds, changing her smile into a serious expression.

"Prince Thor, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three have left for Jötenheim this morning. They intent to rescue Loki and bring him back!"

Again Kale's eyes lit up in fear, but Arya didn't waste any time.

"I am certain that they will succeed, but if Loki sets foot on Asgard, The Allfather will not show him any mercy. However, if we get the people to gather, to show their faith in Loki, Frost Giant or not, then we might be able to stop Odin from killing him!"

Kale took a few steps back, while his eyes slowly locked on the Bifröst in the distance.

"Heimdall is on our side!" she answered before Kale got a chance to say anything. "He will not betray us to Odin."

Kale was obviously still not convinced. He diverted his eyes, turned around and nervously fiddle with the lock on Lyn's stable.

"Kale!" Arya called out. She was starting to panic. The groom licked his lips and took a shaky breath.

"This is treason you speak of!" he bit back.

Arya sighed and put one hand on Kale's shoulder. She walked a bit closer until she was standing right next to him.

"Kale…" she whispered. "Loki was your king… you trusted him, you followed him… he was a better ruler then Odin has been so far.

It stayed quiet while Kale made up his mind. Every second that past made Arya more and more anxious. If Kale wasn't prepared to follow her then there was a chance he would go to Odin and betray her. Not because he wanted to be a total idiot, but because he was scared.

Kale swallowed in the cold morning air before slowly turning to give Arya his final answer.

-xxx-

"Fandral! Stop whining! You knew it would be cold!" Sif shouted through the icy storm wind.

"I'm a simple soul with simple needs, my lady!" the golden warrior called back.

Sif sighed loudly, yet somewhere she knew Fandral was only keeping up the good mood. None of them could deny the fear, building up in their hearts. At least Fandral's whining would keep Sif distracted. She just couldn't rap her mind around the idea they were out to rescue a Frost Giant who also happened to be her lifelong friend.

"My friends, please!" Thor shouted. The God of Thunder pulled his big furry coat a bit tighter around his shoulders. He turned his head to face his two friends who were walking behind him. "Stop arguing! We need to find a way to rescue Loki without attracting too much attention."

Fandral smiled. "I was hoping on a bit of healthy Thor-improvisation!"

Thor shrugged. "You know, the only reason my improvisation ever worked out is because Loki added it to the plan already!"

"Eeeer… when did your improvisation ever work out?" Sif asked playfully. Thor laughed aloud, making everyone smile voluntarily.

The five of them travelled further in silence until the dark silhouette of Laufey's palace arose in the distance. The icy storm wind, which was cutting in their frozen faces, came blowing from its direction and seemed to carry shouting noises in its wake. The four friends glanced at each other, not really knowing what to make of it.

"Perhaps there's a show running!" Fandral suggested. "We could use that in our advantage! I bet the palace and the dungeons are barely guarded!"

"A show!" Sif shouted. "What in Odin's name would Frost Giants have to celebrate! They don't know entertainment!"

Volstagg laughed. "Perhaps they've discovered the fire! Drinks on me!" he joked, earning a few warm laughs form his friends. Only Thor seemed to have turned silent. The God of Thunder stared into the distance, his eyes locked on the palace.

"Stop laughing!" he unexpectedly roared while turning to his friends in one sudden move. Sif and the Warriors Three immediately noticed something was wrong. Terribly wrong… Thor's eyes stood dark and wild with fear. His face was as pale as ice, his hands trembled in his rage.

"The Jotuns know only one way of entertainment! And that's torture!"

If possible everyone turned even more silent. It almost seemed as if every sound around them fainted away, only the ongoing sheers remained to fill their being. Without saying a word, all five of them started running towards the palace, suddenly fearing that every second it would take to get there would be one too much.

-xxx-

Loki breathed out, tasting the fresh blood on his lip. He sniggered. He'd almost forgotten what his own flesh tasted like. Only blood… He was back in the arena. Thousands of Jotuns were yelling and scorning above him, but they were the last thing Loki cared about.

Loki swallowed while gripping his fingers tightly around the cold metal handle of a rusty sword which was probably an Asgardian relic of the Great War. He fixed his eyes on the charging form of what Loki had started to call a _beasty. _He'd seen it before on the day he'd found out he was a Frost Giant. The day Thor had ruined everything. It was a Jotun monster, made only of rock and ice. Difficult to create, but rather easy to destroy. At least if you had excess to a flying, unbreakable hammer!

Loki ducked out of the way when _beasty _ sliced its enormous paw towards his head. Its nails slashed into the stone wall behind him, making the wall crumble down with a thunderous noise. Loki only just managed to keep himself from being buried alive. Sadly, _B__easty _saw its chance and attacked again. Loki felt its cold skin make contact, just before he found himself flying through the air, only to smack back down at other end of the arena. Every last bit of air was forced out of his burning lungs. Black spots started covering his view, but Loki knew better than to faint right now. Over the last weeks he'd had the unsettling feeling that the Jotuns cared less about his well-being than before. That is, about his chances on surviving in the arena. Before, they would make sure Loki got away with a few scratches, a broken bone at most. Now, on the other hand, they seemed to get bored with him, because there was absolutely no "help" coming from their side. The only way Loki could survive was by defeating another _beasty. _Then he could leave the arena to spend another wonderful night in his freezing cell, before being dragged in again. To be completely honest, Loki didn't really know anymore which option he preferred most. Dying seemed more and more attractive every second. The only reason, Loki hadn't given up yet, was because he knew Farbauti, his _mother_, wanted him to beg for his life, to fall at her feet and beg for mercy. That was a pleasure he wouldn't grant. If she was to watch him die, it would be at the hand of _B__easty _here!

With a lot of effort Loki rolled on his side, only narrowly avoiding Beasty's next strike. While moving, Loki felt the sword, which he'd dropped while falling, cut through his shirt into his side. Loki opened his eyes while anxiously searching the ground for the handle, but his view was getting darker. Another stab of pain cut through his being when Beasty's nails suddenly cut through his other side, completely covering the pain of his hand closing around the sharp blade of the sword. While fighting to remain awake, Loki let his in blood covered hand slide down the blade until he found the handle. With a loud cry of agony Loki rolled back on his back to his original spot. Beasty towered above him, reading for the final strike while roaring so loud that Loki could feel his insides tremble. With the last remaining bit of strength in his body, Loki lifted the blade in front of him, facing the grey sky which instantly turned dark when Beasty crashed down on him.

The roaring instantly stopped and a deep silence covered the arena. Loki carefully opened his eyes which he'd screwed shut in fear, but it remained dark. He tried to breath. Slowly, he drew a shaky breath, tasting only blood in his mouth.

Loki couldn't help himself. He just needed to laugh, no matter how much it hurt his crushed ribs and aching spine. His laugh echoed in the tiny dark space between his lips and the frozen body of Beasty.

"I'm sorry, Beasty..." Loki whispered with a smile, just before the light suddenly crashed back into his eyes. Before he got any chance to react or focus, Loki felt the ground disappear underneath him. Two pairs of strong, big, ice cold hands closed around his upper arms and dragged him out of the arena. The light changed from dusky outside storm light to cold dungeon darkness. The wind and cutting snow disappeared, but the cold remained.

And there the ground was once more. Loki cursed under his breath while the loud footsteps of the two Jotun guards faded through the tunnels and his ice cell bars were put in place. With a loud moan, Loki sank back against the wall, hoping he would fall asleep as fast as possible. Perhaps tonight he would get a nice dream, for a change…

-xxx-

Thor came to an abrupt stop in front of the enormous wall of the arena build right next to the palace. Even before his friends had joined him, he started turning his hammer around in fast circles until it lifted him in the air.

Sif and the Warriors three finally reached the wall.

"Thor! Wait!" Sif called out, but it was in vain.

Fandral sighed. "Right, sure… We'll just climb!" he shouted, just before a wave of snow hit him in the face.

With a blast of snow in his wake, Thor raced upwards until he landed as soft as possible on top of the wall. The moment his feet touched down he ducked behind an icy pillar standing near. The God of Thunder looked down and found that he'd landed right on top of the outside wall of the arena. Underneath him were rows of seats, going down until they formed an open circle in the middle. Thor felt his blood run cold when he spotted his brother being chased by one of those Jotun monster. Loki wasn't much bigger than an ant in front of the bloodthirsty monster. Thor needed all his willpower not to fly down immediately and crash that monster with one strike. There were simply too much Jotuns present. He didn't stand a chance. And starting another war was the last thing he needed.

The God of Thunder watched as Loki was thrown across the arena after one blow of the monster. His brother smacked on the ground and stayed there, motionless, while the monster charged again. Loki rolled out of the way just in time. What happened next went too fast for Thor to follow. One moment, Loki was rolling aside, the other he was screaming in agony while the monster crashed down on him. Loki's scream, mixed with the loud roar of the creature echoed through the air. Thor found himself frozen behind the pillar, again feeling an impossible fear clench around his heart. His grip around Mjolnir tightened, while his eyes desperately searched for a sign of life, but his brother was completely covered by the motionless body of the monster. Thor slowly let his eyes glide over the silent crowd until he hit upon the first row seats, meant for the king and queen and their guards. Thor's eyes locked on the figure of Farbauti. His father had told him about the Queen taking the lead on Jötenheim. She was most likely Loki's _real_ mother, which made Thor feel even more sick. How could she even allow this! Farbauti's ruby eyes were locked on the motionless sight in front of her. Almost invisible she moved her hand, gesturing to five guards to enter the arena. Without showing any emotion she watched the five Frost Giants leap over the balustrade and slowly stride over to the monster and Loki. Thor held his breath, horrified of what he would see, but he had to know! Three of the five Jotuns gripped the lifeless body of the creature and effortless removed it from the scene, showing Loki's in blood covered limp body. Thor could see how Loki's hands were still clasped around the handle of the sword. One of the Jotuns bowed over Loki's body and quickly checked his pulse. Afterwards he turned towards his Queen and nodded. Farbauti didn't give any sign of emotion while she watched the two guards drag Loki back to his cell. Thor followed his brother's limp form until he'd disappeared from his view. Only then he noticed his warm tears dripping from his bearded chin onto his trembling hands.

"Is he here?" a voice suddenly sounded. Thor looked down to find Fandral and his other friends finally climbing over the edge of the wall, hoisting themselves next to him. One look on Thor's face was enough.

Sif and the Warriors Three shared a glance.

"Is… is he alive?" Sif finally asked, verbalizing the one thought than was torturing everyone's mind. Thor grimaced while letting his final tears cross his cheeks. His fingers whitened around the handle of Mjolnir and his jaw clenched while his eyes, filled with fire and rage, locked on the silent form of Farbauti still sitting in her throne.

"He'd better be…" he said in a low growl. "If he isn't, I won't rest until I've rid this universe of every last damn Frost Giant!

-xxx-

"Maybe we have to wait till it's dark…"

"Fandral, if we wait till dark, Odin will have known for ages and he'll come to get us himself!"

"Guys, please, be quiet!" Thor sighed. They were standing just outside the arena, trying to come up with a plan to get inside. Now that the "show" was over, all the Jotuns had returned to their duties, which meant that the guards were back in place.

"Isn't there some kind of sewer then?" Volstagg asked. "Like we did on Vanaheim?"

"I don't think there's anything fluid in this realm, altogether, my friend…" Hogun answered.

"Then what do we do?" Fandral asked after a short silence. "I'm out of ideas guys!"

Thor sighed and rubbed his eyes. "We do it my way!" he finally announced.

Sif threw her friend a questioning glare. "I don't mean to offend you, Thor, but "your way" mostly involves running inside, screaming like lunatics, killing everything that crosses our path…"

Thor smiled mysteriously. "Exactly…" he answered.

-xxx-

Loki tried to steady his breathing, but the burning pain everywhere in his body made that impossible. His mortal heart was fighting to keep up.

_Damn it! _he thought while screwing his eyes shut, hoping he would fall asleep._ I can't die here! Not in this godforsaken cell!_

_Perhaps you can…_ a voice sounded in his mind. It sounded an awful lot like his own and he craved to just obey it.

_It pathetic… _Loki though in response.

_But easy… _it sounded.

"So easy…" Loki whispered while breathing out. "So… easy…"

Slowly a deeper darkness took hold of his body, dragging him further and further down. No more cold, no more pain…

_So easy… _Loki heard, although he wasn't sure if it were his own thoughts or the voice ringing inside his head.

"Sorry mate!" it sounded, followed by a short, sickening scream and the sound of a body unwillingly touching the ground.

Footsteps…

Lots of footsteps…

Loki wanted to frown, but his body and mind forced him to sink deeper into the silent darkness.

_Why footsteps… _he thought.

"LOKI!" a voice roared, making Loki jump a foot in the air. At least he would have, if his body had cooperated.

A familiar metal sound and the breaking of ice.

Loki wanted to open his eyes, but it seemed his eyelids had turned to lead.

Footsteps again. Then silence.

"You think he's…," a voice sounded.

Somewhere far in his mind, Loki knew it was Sif, but it didn't seem to matter.

"No… I think he's breathing…," another voice – Fandral – echoed in Loki's ears. The golden warrior was probably referring to the almost invisible, irregular damp clouds leaving his chapped blue lips.

Footsteps again, slowly, carefully coming closer. It all sounded very far away. The ruffling of fabric when someone knelt down in front of him.

"Brother?" a voice sounded, dripping with desperation. Loki almost wanted to laugh. The irony. Thor coming to save him… he wasn't his brother, the evidence was clear enough now.

Suddenly Loki felt two warm fingers pressed in the frozen skin of his neck. A desperate search for a heartbeat which was barely present, but Loki could hear his brother sigh in relief when his fighting heart finally gave notice of its existence. And then, all of the sudden, a warm, tantalizing feeling spread over Loki's whole body, filling him with a sense of security for just a second. Confused, but also curious, Loki forced himself to open his eyes.

-xxx-

Thor laughed shortly when he felt Loki's veins pound under his trembling fingers, but his smile faded when Loki's skin suddenly lost its Jotun blue colour. It started in Loki's neck and quickly spread over his bare arms and legs until it reached his toes. The typical Jotun curves disappeared as well, showing the familiar light skin tone Loki had always had in Thor's memory. The change of colour extended to his brother's face, slowly making its way to his forehead and pitch-black hair line. Just at that moment Loki opened his eyes, showing the transformation, turning his ruby Jotun eyes into his unique emerald orbs, shining with surprise.

Loki opened his mouth, but coughed up some blood before he could start speaking. His eyes slowly focused on his in blood covered, grazed, but obviously pale skinned hands.

"What?" he managed to say in a broken whisper.

"All right… Considering I'm in the middle of a Jotun dungeon, _that _wasn't as creepy as it would seem…," Fandral interrupted the silence, but if effectively ripped Thor and the other's from their surprised states.

"We don't have a minute to loose, Thor!" Volstagg called out. He and Hogun were still standing outside the cell, keeping guard. The God of Thunder nodded and put his hand around Loki's shoulder in order to pull his brother on his feet.

Vaguely, Loki felt the ice floor disappear from underneath him, but the pain, torturing his whole body due Thor's rash movements, made that all disappear to the background. Loki wanted to scream, but his voice seemed to run behind on his brain. So he simply screwed his eyes shut, ignoring the fact that he was holding on to his brother's shoulder just to remain standing, and waited for the waves of pain to fade.

"Very sensitive, Thor!" Sif scolded. The God of Thunder sighed and looked down on his brother, not entirely sure whether Loki had fainted or was just taking a nap against his chest, until he drew a ragged breath and opened his eyes.

Loki tried to smile, but that didn't really work out. "I take it the whole of Jötenheim will be chasing us within the next ten minutes?" he asked.

Sif smirked. "Exactly according Thor's masterplan!" she said with a playful smile. Thor smiled back before turning his attention back on his brother.

"Can you walk?" he asked. Loki smirked.

"Thor, seriously…," he laughed. "You hurt my pride! Are you suggesting I'm injured, brother?"

Thor smiled, but his smile didn't last. He couldn't stop thinking about what Loki's welcome would be. Even if his brother managed to drag himself to… wherever they would find a way out, he would still be in danger on Asgard.

Loki was thinking the same thing, but he'd decided not to ask about the next step of Thor's plan. In fact Loki was quite certain that Thor didn't have a plan, nor a way out. As always, Loki would be the one to fill in that part. Asgard on the other hand was another matter. There was nothing Loki could do to insure his safety back home. All he could do was hope that his oaf of a brother had at least managed to come up with a solution on that part. And if not… well, at least dying at Odin's hand would be a lot less painful than another visit to the arena, not to mention it would be one last chance to torment Odin one last time by proving he'd survived this long.

-xxx-

_One foot after the other and you'll keep moving… _Loki repeated that same sentence in his mind over and over and over again. They were running through the dungeons, trying to find the fastest way to the outside world. Loki was trying hard to keep up with Thor's big steps, but he'd very quickly decided to let his brother do the running and focus his energy on not tripping and holding on to Thor's shoulder. Every few seconds, dark spots would cover Loki's view, but he'd refused to give in, no matter how much his body ached and pleaded to stop. Everywhere around him, cold bodies littered the ground while shouting voices echoed around them. It wouldn't take the Jotuns long to find them.

In an attempt to distract himself from the pain, Loki focused on something else.

"Where's Arya?" he asked, noticing that the black archer wasn't present, which for some reason, made him feel sad.

"She remained on Asgard…," Thor answered shortly, not really in the mood for explaining.

"I figured that much, Thor…," Loki answered, slightly irritated.

"She and Jane are gathering the people of Asgard to try convince Odin to let you stay. So in a way, your fate is in their hands!" Fandral explained with a grin.

Loki looked up from his feet and watched the amused golden warrior in front of him, not really knowing if this information made him feel much better, but Fandral only grinned back.

"They'll manage, Loki!" Sif quickly added, before throwing a accusing glare on Fandral. Suddenly three Jotuns appeared around the corner up ahead. The first one never knew what hit him, because Volstagg and Sif quickly reacted. Hogun, who was last in the group, also turned around to find another four Jotuns close in on them from behind.

Loki never got the chance to get a grip on the situation. Suddenly Thor's supporting shoulder disappeared and he was pushed against the wall. His friends threw themselves into the fight, keeping Loki safely in between them. Loki felt terrible. How deep did he fall to rely on his brother to save his skin?

"Loki!" Fandral's voice shouted. Loki looked up, only to find one not friendly looking Jotun tower over him, ready to strike.

Whether it was out of fear, or just a dodge reflex, Loki didn't know, but he decided to give in to his aching legs and drop on the floor, evading the deadly strike. Sif and Fandral had taken the opportunity to rush forwards and strike the Jotun in the back. Thor only just managed to keep the falling body from crushing on Loki, but his brother had spotted the danger and quickly crawled aside, giving the Frost Giant all room to collapse onto his final resting place.

But by doing that, Loki had left the protective circle of his friends. Two Jotuns saw their chance and charged. Automatically, Loki ducked out of the way, allowing the his first attacker to loose balance and trip. The second, distracted by Loki's first move, didn't noticed Loki slipping behind him. To late he realised he'd been tricked. The Jotun turned a little too quickly. All Loki needed was one well-placed push and the Jotun stumbled backwards, tripping over his friend who had just managed to get back on his knees. Loki grinned shortly. Using your wits was still the best way to win a fight.

Loki stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall. Somewhere his body was still screaming to just lie down and never get up again, but the pain had faded to a very uncomfortable shimmer in the background. Thanks to the sudden danger, Loki's body was filled with adrenaline, keeping him up straight. The fact that he'd just realised that the Jotuns were out to kill him now instead of bringing him back to his cosy cell, only added to that.

"Loki?"

Loki looked up to find his brother's worried blue eyes looking down on him.

"I'm fine, Thor…," he said shortly while shaking of the hand which Thor had put on his shoulder. "Just let's get out of here. I've had enough ice for a lifetime…"

Thor grinned and turned around to call his friends. Half an hour later they were back on track, leaving the dungeons behind them when they finally entered the dim sunlight of the Jotun plain.

Fandral let out a long sigh. "Remind me never to get captured by Jotuns!" he said while stretching his arms above his head.

Loki blinked against the sudden light. Even in the arena he'd always felt a heavy shadow over him, keeping the sunlight away from him. He looked up to the grey sky, almost expecting to see the Bifröst take shape, ready to deliver Odin and a nicely shaped Asgardian army. Luckily all remained quiet.

"I've got a few options to get out of here…," he announced. No on needed to tell him he was supposed to come up with an escape route.

Loki looked around the plain, trying to orientate and figure out the best and, more importantly, fastest way to escape this godforsaken realm of ice. The biggest problem with Jötenheim was that because of the bare conditions, you were never certain whether a portal was still active. One earthquake or avalanche was enough to break the contact, or redirect it to another realm.

After a few seconds, Loki had made up his mind. He pointed towards a spot right of the Jotun palace that was towering over them.

"There's a portal to the outskirts of Asgard over there somewhere…," he said. "It's the closest option, but I suggest we hurry nonetheless."

Everyone nodded, knowing all too well that the Jotuns would catch up soon. And so the fellowship stared walking, keeping close to the shadows of the palace. For the first time in their lives, they were thankful when another one of Jötenheim's infamous blizzards started taking shape. It didn't exactly ease their journey, but it certainly made them harder to spot. They'd been walking for about forty minutes when Loki started to feel his adrenaline levels lower with every step he took. Soon the old pain and exhaustion would be back, but he refused to let it show.

Five minutes later, however, they could all here the deep sounds of footsteps, carried by the strong wind which was pushing them in the back. A few seconds later dark silhouettes became visible through the snow as well.

Fandral, Sif, Volstagg and Hogun drew their weapons once more. "Thor, I suggest you take Loki and get out of here!" Sif called out through the storm wind, but The God of Thunder shook his head.

"There's no way I can see where I'm flying in this weather!"

"Then you better start moving!" Fandral shouted back. "We'll keep them off!"

"Let's just drop our pride and run!" Loki shouted to his friends. "There're just to many! Time to fall back!"

Thor didn't waste any time. He pushed Loki in the back, gesturing he had to start moving.

"Loki's right! Fall back!" he shouted just before he started running after Loki. Sif and the Warriors Three hesitated for a second, but decided to follow. If they lost track of Loki in this weather, they would probably never find the portal anyway.

The six of them raced over the ice plain, ignoring the loud drumming steps, closing in on them. Loki felt a new wave of adrenaline fill his being and giving his muscles the strength to keep moving.

After a few minutes, Thor saw something loom up in the distance.

"Loki!" he shouted to his brother who was sprinting just in front of him, which was remarkable, since his body was only mortal. "There is nothing there! We're running towards a cliff!"

Loki grinned. "Exactly!" he shouted back. "There's a portal just over the edge!"

"What!" Thor shouted back.

Loki laughed in a new found excitement. "I wouldn't worry too much, brother!" he called out while the cliff came closer and closer. "If the portal is still active, we'll be fine!"

"And what if it isn't?" Thor called back.

Loki smiled his own creepy smile. "Then that cliff is just a cliff and we'll fall to our deaths!"

"Loki wait!" Thor shouted angrily but as always his brother was a lot lighter on his feet and easily avoided Thor's grasping arm.

Loki laughed and, without slowing down, leaped over the edge of the cliff. Thor immediately jumped behind him, gripping Mjolnir tightly and ready to catch his brother, but Loki suddenly vanished mid-air. The next second Thor felt the cold air of Jötenheim disappear. In one breath taking moment he was surrounded by a thousand colours, each one gripping onto him until the darkness became a bright flash of pure light. And then there was water. All around him. Thor instinctively searched for the surface, desperate for breath, but he'd lost every kind of orientation, until he found the swimming form of his brother right underneath him, swimming towards a soft light.

Ignoring his own senses, which were screaming he was only swimming deeper down, he followed his brother. The light became stronger and just when Thor was certain he wouldn't be able to hold his breath much longer, he finally broke through the surface, right next to the smiling face of his brother. A few seconds later Sif and the Warriors Three followed, one by one.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" Sif shouted while splashing a good portion of water towards Loki.

"Definitely!" Fandral answered for him, smiling widely. Loki laughed with him.

"Won't the Jotuns follow us?" Volstagg asked.

Loki shook his head. "We had enough of a headstart to make them belief we fell over the edge, invisible by the storm. They won't follow us…"

"Smart thinking there, my friend…," Volstagg said with a smile. Loki grinned widely.

"Any time!" he answered with a playful grin.

* * *

**TADAAAA! Did you like it? I hope you did... if not, sorry, if yes, than, you're welcome!**

**Sorry... I'm a little bit brainwashed. I've been working a lot for school lately, but it doesn't seem like that's gonna change any time soon because... EXAMS!**

***crying***

**So in other words: I won't be able to write that much... *crying hysterically* But, as always, I'll try my best!**

**In case I can't give you guys anything before Christmas and New Year: **

**MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A FANTASTIC YEAR, LET'S HAVE AN EVEN BETTER ONE, SHALL WE! ;)**

**I hope you guys like the story so far! I certainly have enjoyed writing it for you!**

**Lots of love, **

**Rumple x**

**PS: I'm not sure I'll be able to write a Christmas special like I did last year. I'll certainly try, I have some ideas, but I cant promise anything. Maybe it will be a bit of a late Christmas special... We'll see ;) MERRY CHRISTMAS!**


	58. Chapter 57

**Hi...**

**Yeah... I guess you all hate me by now, but if you're reading this... maybe you could give me another chance? **

**I'M SOOOOOOOOO SORRY! I honestly didn't mean to take so long! First there was a month of studying for another month of exams and than there was school again... And I got stuck a little. But I'm back on track now! Honestly, the moment I upload this, I'll start writing the next chapter! (or maybe I'll put my pizza in the oven first... it depends ;) )**

**Anyway, I hope you'll ENJOY this!**

_**Chapter 57**_

With a fast pace, Odin strode through the halls of the palace, following the young and anxious guard who had just informed him that there seemed to be a problem at the palace gates. Only an hour ago, The Allfather had woken up in his chambers… alone… it was a feeling he simply couldn't get used to. The bed, his chambers, his palace, Asgard… his _life_ was depressingly empty and useless without the warm smile of his beautiful queen.

But Odin didn't have much time to let his thoughts wonder off to his wife, for two guards had informed him that his very own son and his most trusted warriors, to whom he'd granted mercy, had betrayed him and left Asgard. He'd immediately summoned Heimdall to the throne room.

Jötenheim…

They'd left to return his stepson, that traitor, that monster…

Before The Allfather had the chance to place judgement over the Guardian, the same guard that he was following through the hallways, came to the doors of the throne room.

A problem… that was all he had to say, as if he was scared to name it.

Odin tightened his grip on his golden sceptre while his mind tried to get a grip on the situation. What had happened to his own House? His son, Thor, had betrayed him, without a second thought! And all for that mistake of a son! He would have to handle quick and hard! This was the final straw! Loki would pay with his life! Lady Sif and The Warriors Three had played their final card as well! Banishment would suit them well! And Thor…

Odin scowled. What to do about his only son… He'd always known Thor had a talent to get in trouble. He was too rash, he didn't think about his actions. It was Loki who…

Odin stopped in his tracks, his face pale as ice, his eyes dark with hatred.

"No!" he roared, making the guards around him jump back in surprise. "Enough of your tricks, trickster!" he shouted into the hallway, clutching his head with his free hand. "I will not show you compassion! I will not!"

The guard around him glanced at each other, not really knowing what to do.

"My king?" one of them carefully asked. Odin jerked his head toward the guard and pierced his dark eyes into his.

"He's trying to trick me, my friend!" he whispered darkly while softly tapping the side of his head. "To control me like he took control of the mortals! Using my memories against me! I will not let him!"

Odin's voice echoed through the empty hallways of the palace. He turned toward the other guards, his eyes wild with rage.

"We cannot allow this trickery! A monster! That's what he is!"

The guards didn't move a muscle, but stared back in utter surprise and slight fear. With a swift move Odin slipped towards the young guard, leading them toward the gates. Odin came closer, until their noses almost touched. The guard was paralysed.

"You will not let him win… will you, my young friend… you cannot!"

The guard swallowed and quickly nodded. "Of course not, my lord!" he answered anxiously, thinking it was better to agree with Odin. The Allfather laughed. The crazy, cold sound slowly faded through the dead halls.

"Good man!" he whispered while tapping the guards shoulder and nodding. "Good man…"

The guard only nodded and waited for his king to take a step back. Odin smiled and gestured forward.

"You were leading the way?" he said.

The young guard nodded, quickly turned around and continued his walk. He suddenly felt even more nervous about showing Odin "the problem".

-xxx-

Odin and his companions turned around the last corner leading to the big front gates of the palace, immediately giving excess to the broad boulevard connecting Asgard with the upper ring of the city. The front guard seemed to slow his pace the closer they got, but once they reached the closed gates, he nervously licked his lips and turned back to his king.

"My lord, I honestly don't know how they got here so quickly and with these numbers, but …"

"Open the gates!" Odin roared impatiently. The guard nodded and gestured to his two colleges guarding the gate from the inside. They both pulled a handle next to the door and slowly pressed it down while the sound of chains and rolling cogwheels filled the air. Bit by bit the massive doors opened, allowing the morning sun that fell straight on the front of the golden palace, inside, making it shine like a beacon on the city. Odin blinked until his eyes had adjusted to the bright light, but what he saw made his heart stop.

Just in front of the opening gates stood a couple of familiar faces. In the middle, Jane, with in front of her, her daughter, dressed in full armour. At her right stood Arya, at her left Lord Steldor and Lord Gunnar. Behind them…

For a far as Odin could see, people filled the boulevard all the way into the city. The guards around Odin, all too a step back, awaiting their king's reaction.

Odin stared at the sight in front of him.

"What is this!" he called out, focusing on the four people in front. "Lord Steldor, Lord Gunnar! Explain yourselves!" he continued, now realising the two Lords hadn't been present in the throne room that morning as well.

The Lords exchanged a glare, but it was someone else who stepped forward.

Carefully, obviously nervously, but also resolutely, Frigga lost her grip on her mother's protective hand and took a step forward. She gulped and quickly adjusted her armour that didn't need adjusting, before looking up with the strongest kind of determination she could manage, colouring her bright sparkling blue eyes.

"I, p...p...princess Frigga of Asgard, The Lady of Light, … Eeer…, daughter of Thor, … rally the people of Asgard in protest of prince Loki's banishment."

Frigga licked her lips nervously. She'd clearly been practising her exact words over and over, but she meant every bid. Using her anger and love for her uncle, she forced herself to continue, ignoring the fact that there were thousands of people counting on her. They didn't matter in the slightest! Not to her! Only Loki!

"According to the eer... ancient laws of Asgard, the king must hear his peoples demands! A rule you n...neglected! Secondly, eeer…"

Frigga blinked confusedly for a second, but he memory luckily caught up.

"Secondly, since my dad is off-world, I speak on his behalf and I have a vote in your actions against Loki, Si… lady Sif and The Warriors Three. I say you leave them alone and grant them the safety of Asgard. Lord Gunnar and Lord Steldor agree with me!"

Odin watched the little girl, speechless and stunned. His look of complete surprise gave Frigga new strength to finish. She took another step forward and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"And thirdly, according to the ancient laws, a king can be declared _unfit _to lead, in which case a new ruler must be selected. As a member of the royal family I place myself, with the permission of the people and two of the Lords, as an eli... el... eligible successor if you prove yourself incapable to fulfil the people's need!"

Frigga locked her bright, stormy eyes on her grandfather, feeling utterly relieved and immensely proud. She wouldn't look away!

Odin tried to rap his mind around the situation. For some reason his thoughts trotted back to his wife. His beautiful Frigga, of whom he could see an almost perfect reflection in this young girl's determined expression.

Suddenly Lord Steldor stepped forward, with Gunnar in his wake.

"Odin, my old friend...," he sadly started. "There was a time I'd follow you until the end of the realms, when I trusted your every judgement... What has become of you?"

Gunnar slowly nodded. "We swore allegiance to the king of Asgard. However in our eyes, you are not fulfilling your duty. Therefor we have decided to …"

"Silence!" Odin suddenly roared. The surprise in his features dissolved into the same dark craziness. "If I'm not mistaken, you can only depose me with approval of at least three votes of the four Lords. In case of a tie, only a member of the royal family can pose the deciding vote."

Steldor and Gunnar looked at each other.

"Princess Frigga…" Steldor started, but Odin quickly cut him off.

"Her vote would count if not for the fact that her father, whom she's replacing, has committed treason and is therefore excommunicated until I say otherwise! Besides, Princess Frigga is under age. Her vote doesn't count without her father's title!"

The two Lords fell silent.

"I believe that leaves you with a tie, my Lords!" Odin finished.

"But that's not fair!' a young voice sounded. Odin diverted his eyes from the two Lords and focused on the his granddaughter who stepped his way, her young face scarred with anger. "Loki never..."

"He sealed his own fate, Frigga! These are matters you cannot understand!" Odin interrupted her angrily.

"I understand that you are just scared!" Frigga shouted back. "You're scared that Loki is a much better king than you are! I'm not the only one seeing that!" she said while gesturing to the people behind her. "You must be a fool to not see it yourself!"

Something seemed to snap inside Odin's mind. His eyes turned dark, his face turned grim, while he suddenly lifted his sceptre and smashed it back down. A loud rumble, followed by small shockwave spread over the boulevard and rolled into the city. Shouts and screams filled the air when the people lost their balance and fell to the ground. Frigga, however managed to remain on her feet. She crossed her arms in front of her body and took a deep breath. Her rage was reaching its peak. If there was something she simply couldn't stand, it had to be ignorant people, using their power to keep up appearances and scare people into following them. In her eyes, Odin was nothing less than a big bully.

"I'm not scared of you!" she shouted. The temperature around her seemed to lower with every word she said. A soft breeze blew in from the boulevard and circled the young girl, making her golden hair wave in the wind. "I don't like you! You're stupid and blind! I'm even embarrassed to be related to you!" she called out while an aura of silver magic slowly formed around her. "I know what Loki did, I know it was wrong, but he also saved me and the rest of Asgard and Vanaheim! You say he's a monster, but I think you're not doing a bad job becoming one yourself!"

Frigga was surrounded by a bright silver circle of light by now. Odin, however, didn't seem to care that much. His expression hadn't changed a bit. He took a deep angry breath and turned back to the rest of the people, who had all taken a step back.

"Loki has betrayed us all!" he roared over the people's heads. "Only by lying he saw a way to the throne. I took him in as my son, I raised him, I taught him, I trusted him! If you desire a traitor on your throne, than he fooled you all!"

Suddenly two guards came rushing through the doors.

"My lord!" they announced while bowing in front of their king. "Prince Thor, Lady Sif and the Warrior Three have been spotted swimming in the Northwest Waters. They're on their way to the palace. We believe the traitor was with them."

Odin nodded shortly and threw a determined glare on the tow Lords who were still standing in front of him.

"Send guards to bring them here!" he ordered.

"What about the traitor?" one of the guards asked cautiously. Normally, he wouldn't need orders concerning Loki. One foot on Asgard sealed his fate, yet still…

Odin's glare shifted back to his granddaughter. The little girl, devastated by the idea that her words hadn't had any effect on Odin – he was still going to punish everyone! – looked sad and even scared.

Odin seemed to hesitate. For some reason he couldn't look away from his granddaughters bright sad eyes. He recognised his wife's sadness… her sadness for Loki.

"Bring him to me!" he ordered shortly. The guard nodded and ran back inside. Odin turned to his people. "Return to your homes! Loki remains a traitor! He shall be punished!"

Without further notice Odin turned around and strode back inside, ordering the two guards at the gates to close the doors. Just when the doors had shut out the last bit of sunlight, a red and green shadow shot across the sky towards the palace.

-xxx-

"All right, what now?" Sif asked with her teeth shattering. After the bitter cold of Jötenheim, she wasn't really enjoying their midday swimming party.

"I suppose we find a way out of here…," Fandral answered, looking around the cave. For as far as he could see, there wasn't any immediate exit. "Eeer… Loki?" he asked. "Any suggestions?"

It remained silent. Fandral looked around the circle of his friends. "Wait…," he said. "Where is Loki?"

Everyone looked at each other, now realising Loki wasn't in their midst any longer. Thor looked beside him to the empty spot where seconds ago Loki had been swimming, but all that remained were a couple of small air bubbles covering the surface.

"Or he's found a way out of here," Fandral said. "Or he's drowning…"

But Thor didn't wait for everyone's opinion. He took a deep breath and dived under, only to spot his brother slowly sinking to the bottom of the cave, his eyes closed, his body limb. The rest quickly followed while Thor grabbed his brother's upper arm in order to pull him to the surface, when Hogun suddenly caught his attention by pointing to a light spot further down the flooded cave. Everyone nodded and started making their way towards what they hoped would be an exit.

Just when they started fearing they'd never see the air again, Hogun and Volstagg, who were swimming ahead, swum upwards and broke through the bright, shining surface into the warm light of Asgard. One by one the others followed.

"What happened?" Sif asked worriedly when Thor joined them, still clutching onto the limp body of his brother.

"Don't know…," Thor answered. "He probably ran out of adrenalin."

"We need to get him the palace… fast!" Fandral added.

"That might be a minor setback…," Volstagg said while staring in the distance, where palace shone bright as ever in the middle of the city.

Sif sighed. "Odin will have noticed our disappearance by now," she said. "We'll never make it back without being seen!"

"I bet they already spotted us anyway," Volstagg added. "Thor!" he said while turning towards the god of Thunder. "I say you fly Loki to the palace. Perhaps Jane and Arya have managed to gather enough people to keep Odin from killing Loki on the spot."

Thor nodded. It was risky, but at the same time, they didn't really have another option.

"What about us?" Fandral asked carefully. "They'll just fish out of the water and arrest us!"

"Yes!" Sif answered. "And I hope they hurry, because I'm not looking forward to swimming the all the way…"

Thor sighed and let his eyes glide over his friends. "I am sorry you had to commit treason to fulfil our quest, my friends. I'll try everything in my power to make my father see reason. Until then…"

"We'll manage Thor!" Sif interrupted.

"A group has to stick together, after all!" Fandral added. "Even if we're talking about our weird little wallflower!" he said with a grin while splashing some water towards the unconscious form of Loki.

"Just get Loki to safety! We'll handle the rest!" Volstagg finished. Thor grinned and lifted Mjolnir above his head.

"Until we meet again!" he said with a smile before taking off, with Loki in his arms. But Thor was in for another surprise when he came closer to the city. The normally shining line of the broad boulevard cutting through the city was coloured dark. When he got closer, Thor realised it was packed with people. Thousands of people. But he didn't have time to worry about that. Right now his attention was focused on the balcony ahead. It was the balcony of his chambers. A little more clumsily than he meant, Thor landed on his balcony, almost dropping Loki in the process. A low moan left his brother's lips, but his eyes remained closed. Thor carefully put Loki with his back resting against the wall before turning towards the glass doors, giving excess to his chambers.

"Damn…" he muttered. The doors were closed. A quick look inside was enough to tell the God of Thunder that his family was elsewhere. Another moan focused his attention back on Loki.

Thor kneeled down in front of his brother. Loki shivered and continued the struggle of opening his eyes. His whole body was aching, burning and trembling at the same time, but that wasn't his biggest worry at the moment.

"Did you feel that?" Loki asked in a hoarse voice when he finally managed to gain eye contact with his brother. Thor frowned.

"What?" he asked.

Loki wanted to pull up his shoulders, but his muscles protested. So he just moaned. "I don't know…," he said in a whisper while slowly lifting his hands to his face so he could rub his eyes and temples.

"It felt like magic… strong magic…"

"You can still feel magic?" Thor asked with a deep frown across his face. "You're mortal…"

Loki sighed. "I can't control it anymore, but I remember what it felt like, you oaf!"

Thor threw his brother a meaningful glare, but Loki ignored it.

"I think it was Frigga…," he continued. "She's getting stronger!"

Loki couldn't help but sound a little bit proud, but he was also worried.

Thor smirked. "I suppose the only solution is when you teach her?" he asked sarcastically. Loki sighed.

"This is not a joke, Thor!" he snapped. "If she doesn't learn to control it, she'll start hurting people! Herself included!"

Thor didn't answer, instead he got back on his feet and looked inside his chambers, hoping someone would enter. He didn't really want to think about Frigga's magic, even though he understood it could be a serious and dangerous problem. They were facing so many problems already! And what would Odin do? Maybe he would start fearing Frigga's power and … No he couldn't think of that! First things first! Loki needed help.

"All right…," Thor sighed after a couple of silent seconds. "It doesn't look like anyone's going to open the doors for us."

The God of Thunder picked up his mighty hammer. He grinned down to his brother, who sighed and closed his eyes again, letting his head rest against the wall. The sound of breaking glass filled the air.

"You're enjoying yourself?" Loki asked when everything when silent. His eyes were still closed, but he knew Thor was grinning stupidly at the opening he'd just created.

"Maybe a little…," Thor answered after a couple of seconds while putting Mjolnir down to help his brother on his feet again.

With a lot of effort the duo managed to walk the few meters from the broken widows to the couch. Loki let himself sink in the soft leather and closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep. Without pain, without fear. But it didn't seem as if anyone was paying attention to his hopes, because two seconds later, a loud knock on the door made both brothers freeze on the spot. Thor stared at the door for a couple of seconds, wondering what to do. Was it Jane? No, she wouldn't knock!

Another knock, this time followed by a voice. "Prince Thor! If you're in there, please open the door or we will use force!"

Thor swallowed and summoned Mjölnir.

"Prince Thor? Last chance!" the voice sounded.

Loki sighed. "Just open the door, Thor… What difference will it make?"

Thor's jaw clenched. He didn't like giving in like this. Normally he could rely on Loki to create an illusion, but now… So The God of Thunder decided to drop his pride and made his way towards the door.

"My prince…" It was Lord Argus. His old face stood dead serious when he pierced his dark eyes into Thor's. "How nice of you to join us once more…"

A young guard, looking as if he wanted nothing more than a pat on the back of his superiors, stepped forward. "We know you are hiding the traitor, my lord! Besides that you have committed treason! The Allfather ordered your immediate arrest! The traitor needs to come as well!"

Thor tried to think of something – anything – to say, but Loki was first.

"_The Traitor…_," he mimicked the young guard without leaving the couch or even showing his face. "Nice new title… But I prefer my name!"

The young guard awkwardly tried to make his way past Thor, but the God of Thunder didn't move a muscle and stared down on the man. The guard wanted to say something, but Thor's dark stare made his words turn to ashes in his mouth. After a few second, Thor turned his attention on Lord Argus, hoping the Lord would understand.

"Lord Argus, Loki is wounded, he needs help! Let me bring him to the hospital wing…"

Just when the Lord wanted to repeat Odin's orders, footsteps sounded at the end of the hallway. Everyone turned and Thor looked over their heads to see his wife and daughter, followed by Kale and his wife Eira, the healer.

"Thor!" Jane called out, both distressed and relieved. "Daddy!" Frigga joined in. The little girl, looking tired and worn out, let go of her mother's hand and rushed forward, skilfully making her way through the legs of the people standing in front of the door. Although she had been really worried about her father, her real goal was – hopefully – waiting inside.

"Frigga don't!" Thor called out, but his daughter swiftly ducked underneath his spread legs and entered her family's chambers.

Loki looked up when he heard his brother call his niece's name. The next second he was looking straight into the tired, watery, yet sparkling blue orbs of Frigga. For a moment all his pain and problems disappeared when he realised just how much he'd missed that little girl. And then, all of the sudden, Frigga had thrown herself into Loki's lap and tightly rapped her arms around his chest, while her tears soaked his scruffy, bloody shirt. Loki could still feel the vague aura of magic around the girl's skin, but his senses were quickly blocked by another wave of searing pain caused by Frigga's rapid hug. Loki couldn't keep a short moan from leaving his lips, making Frigga loose her grip and look up.

"S…s…sorry…," she stuttered through her fast, shaky breaths while she quickly rubbed her eyes dry. She offered Loki a watery smile and laughed shortly. A soft silver glow formed around her. Loki shivered when he felt Frigga's magic against his skin, and slowly infiltrating his aching body. A warm, tickling feeling spread through his muscles while his pain slowly faded.

Loki couldn't believe his eyes. She was doing it again… something that took years of practise, not to mention the rights spells, especially for a beginner, but she was preforming complicated magic as if it was the child's play. Frigga caught Loki's strange look and mistook it for one of terror. From one second to the next, the silver glow disappeared and Loki felt the pain wash over him once more. He groaned and closed his eyes, forcing himself to remain awake. He didn't want to scare Frigga, yet the poor girl probably hadn't the slightest idea of what just had happened, let alone that she had performed advanced magic.

In the meantime, Lord Argus, the guards, Jane and the others had taken advantage of Thor's confusion to get inside. Thor tried everything to stop the guard from getting any closer to the couch, but it was in vain.

Loki looked up at the new comers, battling his own desires to just close his eyes and float into darkness, but he didn't want to scare Frigga.

"Gentlemen, my ladies…," he greeted everyone sarcastically before fixing his attention back on Frigga. He quickly smiled at the girl.

"I'm alright, Frigga," he lied. Jane stepped forward and took her daughter of Loki's lap. Loki tried to get on his feet, if only to be able to look down on Lord Argus and the guards, but Eira softly pushed him down on the couch. Loki wanted to argue, but one look of the healer made him shut up. There was something about those healer that just scared the living hell out of him. It was almost as bad as his mother's death stares…

"My lord, I cannot let you take Loki with you. He needs medical care, you don't have to be a healer to know that. Even our prisoners have the right to get medical attention!"

The young guard, who clearly hadn't spent much time in the infirmary – otherwise he would have known to never argue with a nurse – stepped forward and said: "The Allfather ordered to…"

I don't care what the Allfather said!" Eira interrupted sternly. "These are the laws of Asgard! We are not savages! Loki is coming with us to the infirmary! If Odin wishes to speak to him, he will have to get our permission first!"

The guard wanted to argue, but Lord Argus stopped him. "Very well…," the lord said after a few seconds of silence. "Take him to the infirmary, but prince Thor is coming with us."

Lord Argus turned towards four guards who had accompanied him. "You will escort the traitor to the infirmary. Since he is a prisoner, you have the right to kill him if he tries to escape or harm anyone!" he said, obviously wanting to prove that he too knew the laws of Asgard.

Eira nodded thankfully and together with Kale she carefully dragged Loki to his feet.

"No one's going to ask how I feel about this?" Loki asked in an attempt to lift the heavy atmosphere a little bit.

"Not really," Jane said with a smile after Eira and Kale had both rapped one of Loki's arms around their necks. Loki smiled shortly while forcing the black spots covering his view to disappear. He focused on Frigga who had been awfully silent. The girl rested in her mother's arms. He pale face was covered in silent tears. Today's happenings had obviously left their mark on her young soul. Loki concluded that that only made him feel worse, so he tried to think of something that would maybe give him the strength to drag his feet all the way towards the infirmary without fainting and giving those idiots of guards exactly what they wanted.

"Where's Arya?" he asked while Eira and Kale carefully escorted him towards the door. Jane followed, knowing that going with Thor wouldn't help in the slightest. She wasn't exactly Odin's favourite daughter-in-law.

"She's talking with Lord Gunnar and Lord Steldor," she answered when she was certain Lord Argus couldn't hear her anymore. "They're trying to figure out a way to keep you … safe…" she said trying her best to not use any words that would upset her daughter even more. The little girl almost seemed in shock by now. Jane had to do her best not to just run back to Lord Argus and hit the crap out of his stupid old face. What idiot talked about killing someone in front of a scared six year old!

Loki on the other hand seemed relieved, hearing that the ex-Captain was still fighting for him. In fact he caught himself secretly hoping to see her again really soon. Arya always managed to make things look a little bit brighter.

* * *

**I really hope you liked it even though it took a while :)**

**Please let me know what you think, I'll try uploading as fast as possible!**

**Rumple x**


	59. Chapter 58

**WOW! Can you believe it! I just uploaded twice within a week! That makes up for my two month failure right... kind of... a little bit... maybe...**

**...**

**Maybe not... Who cares! you have a new chapter! ENJOY!**

_**Chapter 58**_

Loki couldn't quite remember the last few hallways towards the infirmary. It seemed as if his feet claimed all his attention, constantly trying to trip over one another or stay behind. But all of the sudden the two supporting arms were gone and he felt himself being lowered onto a soft mattress.

_Sleep… _was the only thing his mind seemed to come up with. Loki closed his eyes and let himself drift off into darkness, completely ignoring the voices around him. _Just sleep…_

When Loki woke up, he found his hands and feet chained to his bed. Also he was dressed in a clean set of colourless clothes which he concluded he hated. He was still in the hospital wing and Eira, who obviously had been watching over him, let him know that three days had passed since he's arrived on Asgard. The moment Odin had found out that Loki had been transferred to the infirmary without his permission, he'd immediately made his way to the hospital wing, only to be send away by an angry looking Eira and Lady Snotra, the head of healers. When she was in the room, you better agreed that everything she said was true and that she was always right. Yet Odin hadn't given up that fast and insisted that Loki would be restrained at all times. Eira had protested – what would a wounded mortal do anyway? – yet Snotra had agreed with Odin's terms. She knew Loki better than most, since he'd visited the infirmary more than once, especially to visit his brother and friends. The young prince never left without a good joke or some mischief.

And so Loki decided to endure his fate, whatever Odin had in store for him. It was quite ironical The Allfather would first let him recover before killing him anyway. Perhaps this meant he would escape the axe after all. However, Loki wasn't sure he was happy with that. The alternative was living out his mortal life and die of old age within the next eighty years… if he was that lucky.

The minutes dragged themselves into hours. Loki had no notion of time whatsoever, only the soft light lighting the rooms from the widows above gave him an idea of day and night. Not that he cared that much. Overall he tried to sleep as much as possible, to pass the time and to forget about the pain which was still torturing his body.

Every now and then, Eira would return to him, feed him and apply some kind of paste on his wounds. It helped a little bit, but it was far from comfortable. The amount of magic the healers used was quite pathetic and Loki secretly wished Frigga would visit and use her magic to relief him of his pain. But Frigga never came. No one did, only Eira. Days past, but no one visited and Loki found himself utterly annoyed by the fact that no one felt like telling him what to expect.

Just when Loki thought Odin had sentences him to an eternity in the infirmary, two familiar faces finally turned up. Loki could feel his heart overflow with joy when two sparkling green orbs fixed on him, although his mood dropped when his dear brother joined Arya at his bed side.

Loki smiled. "You took your time, brother…"

But Thor didn't seem to be in the mood for jokes. His face stood tired, sad and serious.

"Father wants to speak to you…," Thor said after a short silence. Loki's eyes turned grim.

"He can come to me! I fear this mortal form has lost the ability to walk by know!"

Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Loki please…," he growled tiredly. Arya, noticing that this conversation wouldn't end well, quickly joined in.

"We've tried everything to change The Allfather's mind, Loki. For now it seems he's prepared to sentence you again. It's up to you now…"

Loki closed his eyes. His whole body was aching. The last days had barely made a difference. He absolutely didn't feel like speaking with that senile bastard.

"Loki! Father doesn't listen!" Thor shouted impatiently."Not to me, not the people! But he realises that he could spark off a civil war if he doesn't give you a chance. I suggest you take this chance!"

Loki laughed. "He won't listen, Thor! Why would he? He never did! Not to me!"

Thor took a step closer to the bed and bend over until face was right above Loki's. "The people of Asgard have chosen your side Loki, even though they had no reason to trust you! You owe this too them! Asgard is falling apart and there is nothing I can do anymore. Father can take away my title any second. You are our only hope!"

Loki stared back in Thor's bright blue eyes for couple of seconds. "Just how much of an effort did it take for you to admit that?" he asked with a smile.

Thor sighed, but couldn't help to smile. "Brother, I suggest you take out your box of disgusting tricks… Father won't easily submit."

Loki grinned and Arya smiled while holding up the key to remove Loki's chain. A couple of seconds later, Loki gratefully moved his limbs and allowed Thor to help him back on his feet. Something that took a lot more effort that Loki wanted to admit. But when they reached the doors of the infirmary another very unpleasant surprise was waiting. Lord Atlas, surrounded by six guards patiently awaited the trio's exit.

If possible, Thor's dark mood became even worse. He stepped forward, making sure he was standing in between Atlas and his brother, who was being supported by Arya.

"Lord Atlas! This is absolutely not necessary!" he shouted while gesturing to the chains the guards were holding.

The Lord made a wry face. "Laws are laws, prince Thor...," he answered dryly. Thor obviously wanted to object, but Arya quickly interrupted.

"My prince… Perhaps it is better to not keep your father waiting?" she asked with a meaningful glare. Thor sighed and stepped aside allowing the guards to chain Loki up once more, although his brother almost seemed to enjoy the situation. Loki kept his eternal smirk locked on his face and nonchalantly followed Lord Atlas and the guards as if it was a daily routine. Thor and Arya followed, both hoping Loki would be able to set aside his pride and hatred and be the sly God of Mischief he always had been.

-xxx-

Odin nervously fiddled with his fingers on the armrests of his throne. Why in Bor's names was he nervous! It had to be Loki's doing… That trickster was playing with his mind again! Why was he doing this? The past had taught him that letting Loki live always led to disasters! He was endangering the whole of Asgard by allowing this traitor a second chance.

"_Because you gave me a second one!" _Thor's voice echoed inside his mind. _"You claimed to treat us the same and I believed you!"_

He did treat them the same!

"_I was blind Father, we both were! But Loki saw! What else could he see from the shadows?"_

Odin shook his head and forced his ticking fingers to lay down on the golden armrests. His thoughts trotted back to a moment not so long ago, but it seemed a thousand years now. Another voice, another face…

"_Am I cursed?"_

No… no he wasn't… at least, that was what Odin had tried to believe.

"_What am I?"_

It was a question every father should be able to answer and he tried… He did try! It was so obvious, even than! But he didn't' see… why not…

_"It all makes sense now. Why you favoured Thor all these years…"_

He didn't… why would he? Why would Loki think that?

"_Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"_

"I can see that now…," Odin whispered to himself while his memories slowly faded into darkness. Only Thor's scream, Loki's name, vaguely remained. He'd actually felt responsible for Loki's actions when he'd woken up from the Odin sleep, just in time to safe his sons, to keep them from killing each other. But Loki let go…

The coward's way out…

The sound of clattering chains awoke The Allfather form his thoughts. A grim look spread across his face. The coward was coming…

Even though Odin had promised Thor, Lord Gunnar and Lord Steldor that he would listen to the traitor, he didn't feel like changing his mind at all. If his people desired proof of Loki's wicked and dark mind, than he would give it to them.

The room grew quiet when Lord Atlas, followed by the six guards and Loki in between them, entered. Thor and Arya closed the company, but quickly took their places in the room to watch the trail.

Atlas stopped in front of the stairs leading towards the throne, bowed and stepped aside. The sound of footsteps and clinging chains stopped and a deep silence covered the room.

Loki looked up, locking his eyes on Odin. His smirk didn't fade. Odin looked down, dragging the minutes out until everyone was nervously shifting on their spot. He slowly let his eyes wonder over Loki's body and couldn't help but feel a tiny bit nauseous at the sight of his stepson's pale appearance. His customary white hospital clothes were covered it red stains of where his wounds had opened up. His short sleeved shirt revealed the bruised skin of his arms. Loki's face wasn't better off and even his mischievous expression and messy raven hair couldn't hide the tired look in his normally sparkly eyes. Overall Loki looked tired, sick and skinny, but Odin didn't let it get to him.

_Trickery… _He thought while focussing back on Loki's eyes, making sure he didn't lose the eye contact.

"I would expect you to have learned how to bow to you king by now…," Odin said emotionless.

Loki smiled and raised his hands.

"Feel free to start tutoring me…," he answered. In the corner of his eye he could see Thor sigh and look away in anger.

"What makes you think that rudeness will help your case?" Odin asked.

Loki waited before answering. "My dearest brother informed me that you don't listen. I'm glad he came to the same conclusion that I made a hundred years ago. Whatever I'm going to say today, it won't make a difference, will it… _father_?"

Loki's eyes turned dark for a moment. Together with his messed up hair and pale skin, that made him look absolutely crazy, yet powerful. Odin observed the situation. Talking to Loki had always been a challenge since he excelled in leading the conversation and making people say exactly that which he desired. This time he was clearly going for a conversation of truth. At least from Odin's side. If Odin were to blacken Loki's reputation even more, than Loki would make sure every dark secret of Odin came to light as well.

"Do you not see your betrayal? Your lie?" Odin asked after a moment of silence.

"What else would you expect from politics…," Loki answered with a grin. "After all, a _son_ can only learn from his past…"

"Yet a king must look to the future!" Odin shouted back while standing up. Slowly he began descending the stairs. Just for one second, Odin had seen a crack in Loki's eternal smug façade, so he grabbed his chance.

_Dig deeper…_he thought._ Tear him open until he breaks… _

"You hold on to the past!" Odin continued. "You hide behind you imaginary suffering, you claim to be left behind, to justify your actions, your crimes and your lies!"

Odin was standing right in front of Loki at the bottom of the stairs and stared up in his stepson's dark eyes. Loki's jaw clenched.

"I'm not the one hiding in the past!" he threw back in a hard whisper. "Now that the time is right for you, you share the truth with every living soul in the realms. Now I'm a monster! You use the past, _your_ lie, against me, while you claim it never mattered before!"

"It's only now that you show the monster! A crime is crime, and you shall be punished!"

Loki sniggered. "Your words mean nothing to me! You can keep punishing me until your last dying breath, but it won't change a thing! Let me ask you this…"

Loki went silent for a second, making sure he had Odin's full attention, before continuing loud and clear so the whole room would hear him.

"The people of Asgard are willing to follow me, to stand up to you! They chose me! A traitor, a monster… what exactly does that make of you?"

For a second Odin seemed to hesitate, but he quickly recovered and slowly began making his way around Loki, drawing out the minutes while he completed his circle.

"So I am the monster?" he asked with fake calmness. "I'm afraid I don't see where _I _went wrong!"

Odin completed his circle and again locked his eyes on his stepson's. Quite unexpected Loki suddenly moved forward pulling the six guards with him with his chains. Odin automatically took a step back, not because he was scared, but because he hadn't expected Loki to be this forceful in his state. Sadly, his face showed a trace of hidden fear which Loki immediately grabbed in his advantage.

"Look around you, Odin Allfather!" Loki shouted. "Look at your kingdom, your city!"

A moment of silence gave everyone the chance to recover from the surprise.

"It's rotten!" Loki continued darkly. "Dark and cold… Asgard is dying! Soon this sickness will spread over the other realms and you will be left with nothing!"

"Silence!" Odin interrupted. The guards joined him by tightening their grip on the chains, pulling Loki away from their king. Yet Loki only laughed and stood his ground.

"Here you are! The mighty Odin Allfather! I used to look up to you! Idolize you! And dream of the day I could be just like you!"

A low chuckle added to the wild and crazy look in Loki's eyes. "You're pathetic! Ignorant like a spoiled child! Too stubborn to listen, too blind to see!"

Loki's voice echoed through the throne room until silence covered them once more.

Odin's anger reached its peak.

"You filthy serpent!" he said in a hard whisper. "Ungrateful… hateful! I offered you a chance to answer for your crimes, to admit what you've done, and yet you stand here only to spread more lies!"

Loki sniggered. "A chance?" he repeated. "This was not a chance, this was not a trial! It's just one more time for you to spit all over me! No matter what I say or how hard I try to prove anything to you… you won't listen… you won't see…"

Odin grew silent, overthinking his words.

Loki forced himself to calm down a bit and bring back his usual smile.

"You're scared to end this, aren't you?" he silently asked, just loud enough so only The Allfather would hear. Odin looked up, shocked, startled. "You don't know what to do with me…," Loki continued. "Kill me, and you get the whole of Asgard and the realms to deal with. Let me live and you face the problem of a perfectly charming stepson somehow finding a way to escape your grasp…"

Odin started realising Loki's grip had tightened around him. He was trapped and his stepson was clearly taking advantage of his skilfully build spider web.

"I've always known you are many things, Odin…," Loki sneered. "But I never took you for a coward! Chaining up a mortal as if you're scared I would harm you… You don't even dare to accept a challenge…"

Odin pierced his eyes into Loki's. Now he had to play his way. There was no escaping otherwise…

"A challenge?" he asked, trying his best to sound as if he had the upper hand.

"Oh yes…," Loki confirmed while his light grey eyes sparkled green. "A way out… you don't have to kill me and risk the fury of Asgard and you don't have to fear me, locked away in your dungeons…"

Loki went silent as if he was waiting for an answer, but Odin's expression didn't change. So Loki smiled and continued: "You let me go free! In return I swear I won't touch, nor harm you or anyone in the nine realms. The people are happy and I remain an ally of Asgard. Sounds reasonable, don't you think?"

Odin waited a few seconds. He knew the last minutes had been between only him and Loki. The people around him were growing impatient. This was a trial, they had voice in this matter.

"I don't take your word for anything!" he snarled quietly.

Loki smirked. "Then I suppose you'll have to take a leap of fate, dear father…"

Odin felt as if he could strangle Loki on the spot. His stepson only enjoyed his frustration even more!

"Or…" Loki suddenly added in a silent whisper. "You could admit that you are scared of me…"

Odin was trembling with rage by now.

Loki softly let his chains ring through the room. "Now, now…," he said. "Scared of a mortal… how low we have fallen…"

Furiously, Odin turned around and made his way back up the stairs while the guards forcefully pulled Loki backwards.

"The people are waiting, Odin!" Loki called out for everyone to hear. "What will it be?"

Odin turned around when he reached his throne and looked down on his stepson. Loki's words echoed through his head.

"_Kill me, and you get the whole of Asgard and the realms to deal with. Let me live and you face the problem of a perfectly charming stepson somehow finding a way to escape your grasp…"_

He was right. Loki was too dangerous to be kept alive, but killing him would lead to disaster. The whole room was looking at him, awaiting his judgement. Odin knew that whatever he decided today, the people present would agree, with the exception of only a few. But would it be the right decision? He was trapped in Loki's web, he needed time to think!

"Take him to the dungeons! He will remain captive until I place final judgement over him! Get him out of my sight!"

Silence fell and everyone seemed to hesitate for a moment. Thor and Arya and the four Lords shared a glance, not really knowing what had happened. The six guards seemed to be waiting for some kind of conformation of Odin's orders. The Allfather felt their doubt burn around him.

"NOW!" he roared furiously. The six guards quickly bowed their heads and clumsily stumbled out the throne room, dragging Loki with them. Odin tried to ignore his stepson, but Loki's wicked grin remained before his very eyes long after the doors had closed once more.

-xxx-

Loki almost enjoy his trip towards the dungeons. The six guards all seemed to walk as far away from him as the chains allowed them, as if they expected their prisoner to jump at them. In front walked Lord Steldor, who had taken over Thor's duties as Captain. Odin hadn't really punished his son, partly because he craved some sort of continuity is his household. Yet, treason remained treason and Thor needed to be made an example somehow.

So, for now, Lord Steldor was Captain of the Guard, and in charge of Loki's imprisonment. Since Loki had lost his royal title, he was no more than a common criminal and didn't deserve any kind of special treatment like he'd gotten form his mother in the past. Normally that would mean that Loki got to share a cell with other captured souls, most likely the bandits from Vanaheim. Steldor, however had decided to put Loki in a separate cell none the less. There was no question that the criminals held quite a grudge against the ex-king of Asgard. To imprison them together, in Loki's current mortal state, was asking for trouble.

The group held halt in front of an empty cell in between two cells of bandits. It wasn't a very big cell, perhaps half of what his former cell had been and there was no furniture whatsoever, but Loki didn't mind. He wasn't planning on staying a prisoner very long.

The six guards guided Loki inside before unchaining him. Loki never stopped smiling, knowing all too well he was creeping the hell out of the poor guards. Once everyone, except Loki had left the cell, Lord Steldor touched a panel on the pillar in between Loki's and his right neighbours' cell. With a zooming sound the final force field slid in place. Loki, who stood in the exact middle of his cell, folded his hands behind his back and watched the six guards walk away, back to the entrance of dungeons. Only Lord Steldor remained. He silently stared back at Loki who had fixed his attention on him.

"You do realise prince Thor, Lord Gunnar, Arya, Jane and I, not to mention most people of Asgard have tried everything to get you free?" he asked with a blaming tone.

Loki sniggered and walked a bit closer to the golden force field, carefully keeping enough distance to not get roasted alive.

"Your point being?" he asked innocently.

"I don't know what you were trying to achieve back there, but I don't see how making the Allfather resent you even more will help you get anywhere…"

Loki smiled widely and slowly made his way to the back of the cell: the only wall he could rest against since the rest existed out of force fields. When he sunk down and made himself comfortable, he made eye contact with the Lord.

"Don't worry, Lord Steldor… I've got everything under control…"

Lord Steldor smirked and looked down while softly shaking his head.

"Let us hope you do…," he answered after a short silence.

Loki smiled and silently watched Lord Steldor walk away as well, leaving him alone with staring eyes on all sides.

Once Lord Steldor was out of sight, a low laugh filled the air, but Loki didn't look up and kept his eyes closed, his head resting against the wall. His whole body was screaming to just lie down and don't move for another decade. If only that blasted pain would pass!

"Well, well...," a low voice sounded, probably the most thick-headed prick of the lot, thought Loki. "Look who decided to pay us a visit. Aren't we honoured!"

The sound of agreeing mumbling filled the air.

"I suppose the rumours are true… The great king Loki is nothing more than a traitor!"

Loki groaned. "Please do shut up. I have a terrible headache."

"The guards were saying he was worse than a traitor…," another voice sounded, coming from the cell opposite of Loki's. "A filthy Frost Giant!"

Loki opened his eyes and smiled. "You shouldn't dwell on rumours, my friend…," he said.

"He doesn't look blue to me…," another voice joined in from the cell left of Loki.

"Now that's racist!" Loki sneered sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter what he is…," the first voice continued. Loki turned to see who was talking. He had been right. This bloke was obviously the biggest of the lot."If I'm not mistaken, our king has fallen from grace… Nothing more than a puny mortal now!"

Loki could feel at least two dozen eyes burning in his skin. He slowly got to his feet and made his way to the force field at his right so he could look the bandit in the eye.

"Perhaps… Yet, I'm still alive…," he said with smile.

"Say what you want, Asgardian! When I get my hands on you, you'd wish you'd never been born! In here your life isn't worth anything more than ours! You're a prisoner of Asgard now, and no one up there cares rather you live or die!"

Loki sniggered. "Perhaps, yet there's one important difference between you and me…," Loki let his words fade though the air before continuing. "While you rot away in chains for the rest of eternity, I won't be staying here for long!"

The bandit scowled and Loki grinned wickedly, before turning his back to the bandit. He slowly made his way back to the wall and sank down until he was sitting comfortable. He closed his eyes and smiled. "I suggest you enjoy my company as long as you can, dear fellows. I might be the last friendly and handsome face you'll ever lay eyes on!"

* * *

**Tadaaaa... I certainly hope you liked it :)**

**Please review!**

**Rumple x**


	60. Chapter 59

**Aloha!**

**How you're all doing? This is probably one of the shortest chapters I've written so far... (prologue not included) but... it just worked out, all right! ;)**

**Besides that, I've recently received a review with some questions about the fanfic. I figured there were perhaps other people wondering about the same things, so I wrote down the answers below. Go check that out if you're interested! :)**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**Chapter 59**_

On the morning of the third day in his new prison cell, Loki started doubting his plan was going to work. Perhaps he'd been to rash after all… He'd thought that playing onto Odin's current weakness would do the trick. The Allfather was consumed by grief and hatred. He craved for nothing more than a proper fight… But even for Odin, three days was a long time for negotiating. Loki doubted the people were prepared to wait that long. Unless of course Odin was making them promises he wasn't going to keep, slowly awaiting the right time to strike and get rid of his stepson.

The bandits around him had noticed Loki's nervous silence and started sneering at him, but Loki ignored them. He needed to keep positive! He would get out! Alife and well.

Around noon, when the guards came to bring the prisoners lunch, things finally started working out. While the other bandits got their meals through an opening in the magic barriers which immediately closed again, Loki was left without any food. He frowned and slowly made his way to the barrier to speak to the guard standing in front of his cell, but the guard moved aside and a familiar face appeared. Loki couldn't help but smile while Arya took a step forward so she could talk to him.

The young warrior smiled.

"Odin wishes to speak to you…," she announced. Judging from her good mood, Loki doubted The Allfather had come to a, for Loki, bad solution, on the contrary. The sounds of bandits eagerly attacking their lunch, disappeared and a deep silence fell over the cells. Loki grinned widely, ignored the staring eyes full of disbelief and patiently waited for six guards to enter his cell and chain him once more, before being led out of his cell, through the dark dungeon halls. When the group, led by Arya, finally exchanged the dark hallways for the golden interior of the palace, Loki couldn't help but feel relieved, although it seemed oddly quiet. Loki expected Arya would escort him to the throne room, but soon realised that they were going in an entirely different direction. Loki frowned when the huge doors of the Big Hall, which was only used for special occasions like coronations or weddings of the royal family, came in sight.

"You're kidding me!" Loki exclaimed when they reached the large oak doors. Arya sighed and turned to Loki.

"Odin has decided to let the people place judgement over you, at least according to his terms…"

Loki sniggered. "His terms…," he repeated. "What does that mean?"

Arya raised her shoulders. "I don't know…," she admitted. A sad and slightly scared look spread over her face and Loki suddenly felt a lot less confident than before.

Arya gestured to a smaller door next to the big oak doors. Loki swallowed, nodded and tried to smile. The six guards carefully made their way to the small door. Behind it, Loki new there was a tiny room and a hallway, immediately giving excess to the balcony in front of the Big Hall. From there, a long set of stairs let down to the broad aisle stretching out all the way to the throne in the back of the Big Hall. While Loki was led through the small door, he realised that the last time he'd set foot in the Big Hall without being the one sitting on the throne, was on the day of Thor's "attempted" coronation. Loki had never been nervous to speak in front of a crowd. After all, he was born and raised as a true prince. This time however, he did feel slightly nauseous, as if his stomach had decided to whirl itself up into a tight knot. Suddenly Loki was rather happy he would skip lunch today…

The door closed behind him and Loki blinked until his eyes got used to the dim light in the small room. In the distance he could hear muted voices… thousands and thousands of voices. There were only a few meters and a corner separating him from the whole of Asgard. Loki took a deep breath and quickly looked beside him, only too happy that Arya had followed him inside. He forced a smile on his lips.

"Tell me, why did Odin send you to collect me?" he asked in an attempt to take his mind of things. Arya smiled her perfect smile and her green eyes seemed to light up in the dark room.

"Because I asked…," she simply answered, but for some reason those three words made Loki even more nauseous in a very strange, yet not that uncomfortable way. He smiled and straightened his back. He would face Odin and he rest of Asgard with his head held high!

Arya smiled once more, somehow making Loki feel more confident with every breath he took.

"Are you ready?" she asked. Loki smirked and nodded shortly. He watched Arya walk around the corner, into the light of the Big Hall. Moments later, the sound of a thousand voices slowly faded and made place for a heavy, nerve-racking silence. That was Loki's call…

The six guards slowly tugged Loki forward and followed Arya into the Big Hall. The walk from the balcony towards the throne had never been so long and with every step Loki felt the pain and stiffness still lingering in his muscles, increase. He kept his eyes fixed on the dark form of Arya walking a few meters ahead, ignoring the thousands of staring eyes around him. It probably had never been this silent in the Big Hall in the history of Asgard and Loki wondered what most of the people watching him were thinking of right now. He knew the people had rallied for him, but Odin could have poisoned their minds in the time he spend in the dungeons. Were they still fighting for him? Did they wish him dead? Just how many of them would truly follow him in the same way they'd done before?

Finally, the group came to a halt. Arya bowed her head and slowly stepped aside. Loki took a quick glance around him. Odin on the throne, The Lords standing at the bottom of the stairs leading upwards. Thor standing halfway the stairs, to Odin's right, Frigga – nervously and dressed in full armour – a few steps under her father and Jane standing at the bottom, looking up at her daughter, trying to give the little girl the courage to remain on her spot while thousands of people were watching. The Warriors Three and Lady Sif were also present, to Loki's surprise, and silently stood on their places on the stairs to Odin's left. Loki had expected them to be imprisoned, banished or even executed by now… The silence in the room grew heavier every second and Loki struggled to keep his confidence, but he refused to give in, so he locked his eyes on Odin and waited patiently. He tried to get some idea of what the Allfather had in store, but his eternal poker face remained put.

After what seemed like ages, Odin finally shifted his weight and tightened his grip on the golden sceptre in his hand. With a swift move he shortly lifted it before putting in down again. The metal sound rumbled to the furthest corners of the room.

"Loki… son of Laufey!" Odin roared. "You have committed crimes and treason against the mighty realm of Asgard, to its peoples and the other realms. According to the ancient laws, for this, you should be punished."

Odin grew silent and pierced his eyes into Loki's, making it all too clear that he had the upper hand this time. Loki scowled. This wasn't a trial either… the people had nothing to say. They were only here to keep Loki from protesting, to make sure Odin had absolute power. Today, Loki knew that he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of whatever Odin was going to do next.

"For your crimes, only the axe would suffice. I already showed you mercy, yet you keep fighting against me…"

Odin smiled lightly. In the corner of his eye, Loki spotted Thor, throwing a warning glare to his brother not to answer. So Loki clenched his teeth together and remained silent.

Odin smirked. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?" he sneered. "Have we finally run out of lies?"

Loki almost bit his tongue to pieces while forcing his mouth to remain shut. He knew what Odin was doing: he tried to get him angry. It stayed silent for a couple of seconds and everyone nervously awaited what would happen next.

Finally Loki managed to calm down. He straightened his back and lowered his eyes for a second before locking them on Odin once more, showing nothing but confidence.

"If the axe is your final judgement then I shall undergo my punishment," Loki announced, trying to sound as truthful as possible, without a trace of his usual sarcasm. Thor, who had fixed his eyes on his brother, hoping he would understand that the time for playing was over, now carefully let his eyes shift to his father, waiting for his reaction. This was a matter of life and death. The entire Big Hall seemed to be holding their breath.

"It seems to me…," Odin suddenly continued, making everyone jump a foot in the air, "that the people of Asgard do not wish to see you dead!"

Loki felt a spark of hope light up his heart and the rest of room relaxed a bit. Odin continued.

"A king must listen to his people's needs. Therefore I have decided to let you live. However…"

There you had it… Loki knew there would be a catch.

"You will live on my terms!"

Another silence covered the Big Hall. Odin looked away from Loki and gestured to Lord Steldor to step forward. "Captain…," he said. "Read my terms to the prisoner so that everyone may hear them."

Lord Steldor bowed his head. "Yes, my king…"

Loki raised his eyebrows while the Lord took a step in his direction and unrolled a scroll of parchment. Asgard rarely put anything on paper. Only after battles or when a new trade agreement was made there was need for paper work. Odin probably wanted to make sure that Loki could not twist his words. Lord Steldor cleared his throat and cast a meaningful glare on Loki, warning him not to interrupt, before fixing his attention on the parchment.

"Odin, son of Bor, Allfather, hereby offers you a pardon for your crimes and treason against the King, Asgard and the other realms of the mighty Yggdrasil. This pardon will last for seven years according to the Asgardian calendar and will only stand if the following terms are respected and enforced.

You shall not harm, nor threaten an inhabitant of Asgard nor their allies nor those under the protection of the king.

You shall follow the orders of your superiors and remain an ally of Asgard.

You shall not leave the palace grounds without a minimum of two guards of Asgard accompanying you.

You shall not leave Asgard without permission of the king and you shall not do this without a minimum of two guards of Asgard accompanying you.

You are not permitted, under any circumstances, to enter the dungeons nor the weapons vault without permission of the king.

You shall not carry weapons on your person, nor accept weapons from anyone without direct orders from the king.

You will co-operate to the – by the king's orders – inspection of your chambers every two days. The guards are allowed to confiscate anything they believe to endanger the safety of the realms."

Lord Steldor took a deep breath and quickly glanced from behind the parchment to Loki, trying to get an idea of his reaction. Loki didn't show any emotion. So Lord Steldor continued.

"In order to regain your title, your immortality, your magic and your right to the throne (second in line), you must follow these terms without fail. One misstep will result in your immediate execution. Of you fail to prove to be everything you once claimed to be – a prince, a son, a brother, a king – within the set time of seven years, you will be left mortal and you will be send to Midgard to live the remainder of your life under permanent supervision. Only the word of the king will relief you of this contract. If you decided to agree with these terms, you will swear allegiance to your king. If you refuse…"

Lord Steldor went quiet for a second, letting Loki know that the alternative wasn't what everyone was hoping for.

"If you refuse, you will be sentenced to spend the remainder of your mortal life in the highly secured cell of Asgard, under permanent supervision, with no special treatment whatsoever nor will anyone be allowed to visit you."

Lord Steldor went quiet and slowly rolled up the scroll once more. His eyes pierced into Loki's.

Loki went over the terms and conditions Odin had inflicted in this deal. He slowly let his eyes wonder over the people in front of him. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three emotionless awaited Loki's decision, although Loki had an idea of what they were hoping to hear. Thor seemed a lot more eager for the first option and pierced his bright blue eyes into Loki's. But it was Frigga who really caught Loki's attention. The little girl was pale and it seemed she was close to tears. Only now, Loki noticed how extremely tired the little girl looked. She was obviously scared, but tried her best to not seek comfort with anyone. Loki closed his eyes for a second. Of course he'd already made his decision, this deal was never meant to end any other way. Odin and Loki knew all too well that if he refused and was sentenced to imprisonment, Loki would die after all once the people had forgotten him.

Loki opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He quickly locked his eyes with Arya's emerald orbs, felt his heart jump in an unexplainable excitement and looked up at Odin.

"I accept your terms!" he announced loud and clear. A wry smile spread across Odin's face.

"Very well…," he said. "So be it!"

Loki scowled. He knew the most humiliating part still needed to come… Loki already clenched his teeth together and forced his pride to take a short break, just as a precaution.

After a short silence, Odin continued.

"Kneel…," he ordered in a strong voice, making everyone shiver.

Loki swallowed and tried to ignore the thousands of staring eyes, not to mention his own screaming voice inside his mind, shouting that he couldn't give this oaf the pleasure of seeing him kneel.

With a lot of effort and a few kind pulls at his chains form the guards, Loki finally found himself kneeling at the bottom of the stairs.

Odin waited a few moments, if only to rub in Loki's humiliation.

"Loki, son of Laufey, do you swear allegiance to the King of Asgard, the royal court and the Asgard's allies?"

Loki looked up, forcing himself to look Odin in the eye. "I swear!" he answered with as much force as he could manage.

_Think of Frigga…_ he told himself while the little girl's scared, pale face appeared in front of his eyes. For some reason his thoughts also trotted back towards his mother. What would she think of him right now? How would she have looked at him?

"Do you swear to live by these terms, or otherwise face the axe?"

Loki swallowed. For the first time ever he didn't feel so sure about himself. What would Odin do once he was free? Loki was certain that the Allfather wasn't going to make things easy for him. Just how long would Loki be able to resist his own desires for revenge?

It didn't really matter anymore… There was no going back! There was no alternative!

Loki took a deep breath. "I swear!" he answered, feeling the weight of the deal rest on his shoulders.

"Then, in the name of my father and his father before, I ,Odin Allfather, set you free under the terms of our arrangement!"

Odin's voice slowly faded through the Big Hall. With a simple gesture, he ordered the guards to unchain Loki. A low rumble spread across the room, the sound of thousands of people finally breathing out in relief.

Loki was pulled to his feet and patiently waited for his chains to be removed. The moment the last metal click had faded and the guards had stepped back, Frigga couldn't restrain herself any longer. She burst into tears and rushed forward until her arms found the scruffy back fabric of Loki's dirty hospital shirt. Her loud sobs echoed through the room, but the little girl couldn't care less. Nor did she care about the sudden hand of her mother on her back and the comforting voice of her father, nor about the questions to let Loki go because "Loki needed to rest now, Frigga", nor about the thunderous applause of the people that followed seconds later.

* * *

**I know, not that long and lots of politics... sorry, but I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Now for those who are interested, here are the answers on the questions in a recent review posted by _ena_.**

_**Why is Loki immortal? (Don't you mean "mortal"?):  
**__**if "immortal": **Odin fought the Frost Giants in the past. Since then, it doesn't seem like neither of them has aged or died, including Loki. I suppose this is just something Marvel decided.  
_**_If you meant "mortal":_**_ I don't think Thor became mortal because he was send to Midgard (being a mortal world). We see him fight on Earth in "The Avengers" and "Thor: the Dark World" and he doesn't seem to be affected by our mortal world. I believe it was Odin who took away his immortality and restored it (through Mjölnir) once Thor had proven to be worthy. In Loki's case, I can see your struggle. He is indeed no real Asgardian and to be honest, I don't really have a perfect answer for you. In this Fanfiction, I've tried to portray Odin as the mightiest in the nine realms. In the Avengers, Loki speaks of "Dark Energy" needed to send Thor to Earth because the Bifrost was destroyed. Perhaps Odin masters different kinds of dark and light magic and is he capable of taking away Loki's immortality, whether he is Asgardian or Jotun.  
Another explanation is that immortality is the same for all species. Therefore taking it away from Loki wasn't any different than in Thor's case in "Thor".  
Or perhaps we can assume that Loki has lived on Asgard long enough to be affected by its magic, making him an Asgardian rather than a true Jotun._

_I'm not saying you have to agree with any of these explanations. Like I sad, I'm not entirely certain myself. Yet, thank you for posing this question! I loved to think about it! :) _

**_Considering Loki's magic ("He's not helpless without it"): _**_This is an interesting remark, because I had a feeling it would turn up sooner or later. To be honest, I did have a bit of trouble to picture Loki's reaction if he were to loose his magic and it took me a while before I decided what I was going to do with it. You're right that we saw Loki fight in the Avengers without use of his magic and let's be honest, he totally rocked that! ;) But I thought: "Why does Loki do this? Why does he think he will succeed in conquering the world?" I figured that Loki just had pretty bad case of megalomania. He saw himself superior over any species, just because the human race had portrayed them as Gods. His magic makes him stronger. I believe that part of the reason that Loki dared to attack Earth, that he felt confident about his fighting, was because he had his magic. He knew he could always rely on it. It was just another strength for him. But when it's gone, he suddenly realises just how much weaker he truly is without his magic. Of course he's still still physically stronger, but his magic had always been something unique. None of his friends ever wielded magic. Besides that he's also emotionally very attached to it since it was his mother who thought him everything.  
Now I know that I portrayed Loki absolutely helpless when his magic was taken from him. But if you look at him now, you see that he's pretty much adapted to his situation. Those first moments were nothing less than utter panic. Loki's a fighter, after all. He'll get up after he's fallen.  
Just to give you a bit of an idea of how Loki's was feeling, I figured that loosing his magic, must have felt like what we woud feel if we find ourselves stranded in the middle of nowhere without range or wifi... Now you take that feeling and multiply it with, let's say, one million and you might have an idea of how Loki felt. Although, after a while, I'm sure that even us internet addicted nerds will find some way to survive! ;)_

**_Why did Loki feel cold?:_**_ I think this one is just a matter of your perspective. I never thought that Jotuns didn't feel cold at all. After all a polar bear of a pinguïn also feels cold. They just grew accustomed to it over the course of evolution. Now take Loki: we have to consider that Loki was a weaker Frost Giant to begin with, so perhaps he wouldn't have survived the bitter cold of Jotunheim just because he wasn't strong enough like the other Frost Giants. Secondly, I suppose that it's also a matter of getting used to the cold. If you grow up in a world of ice, you still feel the cold, but it won't bother you as much as someone who grew up in a hotter environment. Loki grew up in Asgard, so I suppose he never got used to it. And thirdly, his immortality and magic had just been taken away. His body, which was normally protected by these forces, is practically going through a shock. _

**So, I hope I cleared up a couple of things. I very happy I got these questions! Please feel free to ask me anything, I'll try my best to give you some kind of answer. If you don't agree with my answers I won't kill you! ;)**

**Please let me know what you think!**

**Rumple x**


End file.
